Sipalay

Sipalay, officially the City of Sipalay, (Hiligaynon: Dakbanwa/Syudad sang Sipalay; Filipino: Lungsod ng Sipalay) or simply referred to as Sipalay City, is a 4th class city in the province of Negros Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2015 census, it has a population of 70,070 people.

Sipalay history can be traced back to the undated time of early settlements of the natives Tumandok 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.

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 as para and by the Chinese, due to the difficulty of pronouncing y, as palay 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, late President Elpidio Quirino signed Executive Order No. 185 proclaiming Sipalay as a town. The official inauguration of the town was on December 20, 1948. The conversion of Sipalay into a component city of the Province of Negros Occidental followed in 2001.

The city is known for its tourist destinations. An example of it is the now-defunct Maricalum 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. Dubbed as the New Boracay, foreign and local tourists flock its beaches the whole year round for not only for swimming but for diving as well.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sipalay