Sipalay | |
|---|---|
| City of Sipalay | |
 Pump boat in Sipalay | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Nickname: "The Jewel of the Sugar Island" | |
| Motto: "Ugyon Sipalaynon" | |
 Map of Negros Occidental with Sipalay highlighted | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
.svg)  Sipalay Location within thePhilippines | |
| Coordinates:9°45′N122°24′E / 9.75°N 122.4°E /9.75; 122.4 | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Negros Island Region |
| Province | Negros Occidental |
| District | 6th district |
| Founded | December 20, 1948 |
| Cityhood | March 31, 2001 |
| Barangays | 17 (seeBarangays) |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Panlungsod |
| • Mayor | Maria Gina Montilla-Lizares (NPC) |
| • Vice Mayor | Oscar C. Montilla, Jr. (NPC) |
| • Representative | Mercedes Alvarez (NPC) |
| • City Council | Members
|
| • Electorate | 48,864 voters (2025) |
| Area | |
• Total | 379.78 km2 (146.63 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 74 m (243 ft) |
| Highest elevation | 549 m (1,801 ft) |
| Lowest elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2024 census)[3] | |
• Total | 73,847 |
| • Density | 194.45/km2 (503.61/sq mi) |
| • Households | 16,858 |
| Economy | |
| • Income class | 3rd city income class |
| • Poverty incidence | 30.74 |
| • Revenue | ₱ 1,142 million (2022) |
| • Assets | ₱ 2,616 million (2022) |
| • Expenditure | ₱ 1,005 million (2022) |
| • Liabilities | ₱ 772 million (2022) |
| Service provider | |
| • Electricity | Negros Occidental Electric Cooperative (NOCECO) |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PST) |
| ZIP code | 6113 |
| PSGC | |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)034 |
| Native languages | Hiligaynon Tagalog Cebuano |
| Website | www |
Sipalay, officially theCity of Sipalay (Hiligaynon:Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Sipalay;Filipino:Lungsod ng Sipalay;Cebuano:Dakbayan sa Sipalay), is acomponent city in theprovince ofNegros Occidental,Philippines. According to the 2024 census, it has a population of 73,847 people.[5]
It is the top tourist destination in the province of Negros Occidental.[6]
Sipalay's history can be traced back to the undated time of early settlements of the nativeTumandok who discovered the lowland plains very fertile, arable and fully vegetated by trees. The areas was well dissected by river tributaries, which accounted for the fertility of the lowland.
Records from the Spanish era suggest that the town had existed as early as 1618.[7] During the Spanish era, the area was further discovered and developed by sailing adventurers from the neighboring island of Panay, being the group who resented the Kintos System enacted by the ruling Spaniards by then.
Growth and development flourished as Chinese merchants came to barter their wares with staple food, particularly rice, which was commonly called by the settlers asparay and by the Chinese, due to the difficulty of pronouncing r, aspalay which was the word to have been popularly associated with the place. Thus the area came to be known as Sipalay.
At the advent of the American regime, Sipalay was a full pledge barrio of the Municipality of Cauayan. In the early 1920s the political structure was already in place.
During the World War II, Sipalay was made an emergency town and after the war. On November 20, 1948, then PresidentElpidio Quirino signed Executive Order No. 185 proclaiming Sipalay as a town. The official inauguration of the town was on December 20, 1948.
On November 8, 1963, Mayor Genaro Alvarez Sr. was about to run for a third term in the 1963 election when he was stabbed to death by an assailant, with his vice mayor Jesus Alejano Sr. briefly succeeding him. Police named Pedro Malbajor, a member of theNacionalista team of the opponent to mayor Alvarez, as the prime suspect.[8] Alvarez's wife Mercedes, a former beauty queen, ran for mayor in his stead, winning the election by a wide margin.[9][10]
On January 3, 1988, former mayor Rodrigo Chua was running once again in the 1988 mayoral election when he was assassinated during a political rally in Barangay Mambaroto, being fatally shot in the chest by a lone gunman suspected to be from theNew People's Army.[11][12][13] His sister, Soledad Chua Montilla, ran in his stead and won.[13]
The conversion of Sipalay into a component city of the Province of Negros Occidental followed in 2001 after the ratification ofRepublic Act No. 9027.[14]
In October 2019, Vice Mayor Oscar Montilla was found guilty of corruption by the Fourth Division of theSandiganbayan for neglecting to implement a suspension order against five city officials in 2005 while he was mayor.[15] The Sandiganbayan later upheld its decision in January 2020, and Montilla was thus imprisoned and perpetually disqualified from holding public office.[16]
Sipalay's distance fromBacolod is 170 kilometres (110 mi) and 171 kilometres (106 mi) fromDumaguete, the capital ofNegros Oriental. Public utility vehicles plying the southern Negros route pass by this city. Those coming from Negros Oriental can either exit through Kabankalan City via Mabinay or through Dumaguete via Hinoba-an.
Sipalay City is politically subdivided into 17barangays. Each barangay consists ofpuroks and some havesitios.
| Climate data for Sipalay | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 31 (88) | 32 (90) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 28 (82) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (85) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 21 (70) | 21 (70) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 22 (72) | 23 (73) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 45 (1.8) | 37 (1.5) | 62 (2.4) | 93 (3.7) | 190 (7.5) | 259 (10.2) | 284 (11.2) | 236 (9.3) | 244 (9.6) | 247 (9.7) | 162 (6.4) | 86 (3.4) | 1,945 (76.7) |
| Average rainy days | 10.8 | 8.4 | 12.7 | 16.3 | 26.7 | 28.5 | 29.1 | 28.0 | 27.4 | 28.5 | 23.4 | 15.5 | 255.3 |
| Source: Meteoblue[17] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 20,325 | — |
| 1970 | 34,771 | +5.51% |
| 1975 | 45,773 | +5.67% |
| 1980 | 51,264 | +2.29% |
| 1990 | 61,892 | +1.90% |
| 1995 | 63,960 | +0.62% |
| 2000 | 62,063 | −0.64% |
| 2007 | 67,211 | +1.11% |
| 2010 | 67,403 | +0.10% |
| 2015 | 70,070 | +0.74% |
| 2020 | 72,448 | +0.70% |
| 2024 | 73,847 | +0.46% |
| Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[18][19][20][21][22] | ||
Major dialects areHiligaynon andCebuano.English andTagalog are also understood.
Poverty incidence of Sipalay
Source:Philippine Statistics Authority[28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35]
.jpg)
Airline companyAir Juan offers services fromCebu,Iloilo andPuerto Princesa via theSipalay Airport.
The city is known for its tourist destinations. An example of it is the now-defunctMaricalum Mining Corporation which happens to be one of the largest mining companies in the country. It now has a park dedicated for viewing the whole mine from atop.
It also boasts beautiful pristine beaches being a seaside city. Widely dubbed as the uncommercializedNew Boracay of Negros, foreign and local tourists flock its beaches the whole year round not only for swimming but for diving as well.
Identified as the assailant of Mayor Alvarez is Pedro Maljabor, [sic] a political leader of his NP opponent.
[Ramonieto] Padilla is the official candidate of the Nacionalista-Democratic Coalition and is facing Acting Mayor Genaro Alvarez, LP.
The reason – Mayor Soledad Montilla, the charismatic and motherly mayor of the city, was reported undergoing dialysis at the Bacolod residence since two weeks ago.
Articles Related to Sipalay | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||
.svg)