Sipalay City, Negros Occidental

Sipalay got its name from the old native phrase si palay meaning 'there is rice'. Chinese traders, who were not able to pronounce the 'R' in the local word Paray are believed to have helped disseminate the name Sipalay as rice abundantly grows in the area and is freely traded.

The original natives of Sipalay were the "tumandoks ", perhaps with Malay or Bornean roots . Immigrants from Panay Island joined them later. These were families who ventured out to the sea to escape the oppressive Spanish feudal system and found a new home in the paradise that is today Sipalay.

With unflinching political will, its local officials spearheaded by the Municipal Mayor then, led Sipalay to recovery and caused it to raise high above the economic setbacks and bloody turmoil of a low intensity civil war. Not only were revenue surpluses generated starting 1989, but also for the next eight consecutive years, the surpluses continued to rise. The peace and order situation, as it were, was somehow cajoled to a level allowing people's lives and business to go back to "normal". Amazingly, some investments, particularly in tourism development, flowed in.

Geographic Location

The City of Sipalay is the second to the southernmost town in the province of Negros Occidental . It is bounded by the municipalities of Cauayan in the north, Hinobaan in the south, and Candoni in the east. To its west is the Sulu Sea. The city lies approximately 178 kilometers from the provincial capital of Bacolod City and can be reached via the national road from Bacolod to Hinobaan within 3 to 4 hours.

The City's total land area is 42,770 hectares or 427.7 square kilometers, with a coastline stretching some 45 kilometers long along its western side. Sipalay is politically subdivided into 17 barangays, five of which comprise the poblacion area or the urban core of the City (Barangays 1 to 5). Surrounding the poblacion are the barangays of Nauhang, Gil Montilla, Mambaroto and Maricalum while the barangays of Cabadiangan, Camindangan, Manlucahoc and Nabulao form the hilly to mountainous outskirts. At the northwestern side of the City are the barangays of Cartagena and Canturay, which are traversed by the national road leading to Bacolod . The last barangay at the southwestern portion is Cayhagan, which is linked to the southernmost municipality of Hinobaan via the national road. Barangay San Jose, commonly referred to as the mining town, lies at the upper portion of Gil Montilla east of Canturay and Cartagena.

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