Variants of the panabas used as combat weapons or ceremonial executioner's axes are more commonly associated with the ethnic groups of the southern Philippines, particularly with the Maranao and Maguindanao people.

[9] "Panabas", as a broader term, can also refer to the indigenous large forward-curving sickle-scythes of the Philippines, known more specifically as the karit, haras, lagaraw, lampas, or sanggot.

[5] Observed cross-sectionally, the blade is also thicker at its base, with a typical example being about 2 cm (0.79 in) thick - so designed in order to withstand the massive forces that the panabas both deals out and absorbs with every blow.

[12] Panabas scabbards were made of plain wood and are now extremely rare - according to accounts, largely because warriors would frequently discard them prior to a battle.

[5] While the panabas is now rare and there are thus no contemporary cases of its use in battle, stories from and prior to the American colonial era describe it as being used for mop-up operations.

The noted use of the panabas as an execution tool sprang from its initial domestic use for cleaving meat and fish, easily chopping through the large tuna that are caught in the seas of the Southern Philippines.