# Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay

Ipil, officially the Municipality of Ipil (Cebuano: Lungsod sa Ipil; Maguindanaon: Inged nu Ipil, Jawi: ايڠد نو ايڤل; Chavacano: Municipalidad de Ipil; Tagalog: Bayan ng Ipil), is a municipality and capital of the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 89,401 people. Ipil is the most populous municipality of Zamboanga Sibugay, and the second most populous in Region IX after Sindangan.
The town hosts its only airport in the province, Ipil Airport located at Barangay Sanito, along the Pan Philippine Highway. Its large income and population makes it a major commercial and economic center in Zamboanga Sibugay.

## History

Ipil used to be known as Sanito, a place under barrio Bacalan under the Municipality of Kabasalan. It was a swampy area and a docking spot for pioneering Ilocanos who settled in the upper areas of Titay. Ipil was a jumping point for their lantsa sailing to Zamboanga City. The first mayor of Ipil was Gregorio Dar, an Ilocano who came from Titay. The Dar Family were the second batch of Ilocanos who settled upon the invitation of Mariano Families who are among the first batch of Ilocanos from Luzon. When Sanito became a Town in 1949, its name was changed to Ipil, as there were many Ipil trees found within the said locale.
The territory was further reduced when, through Batas Pambansa Blg. 183 of 1982, fourteen barangays were separated to create the municipality of Roseller Lim.

### Early Ilocano routes

The first Ilocanos used Ipil as the nearest jump point in connecting Titay with Zamboanga City. They would walk via Lumbia then to Longilog then Gabo reaching Mayabang their original settlement. It was this route that they do not have to cross the rivers as it is uphill. It was the Ilocanos who first set foot on these areas. Mayabang came from the first Tagalog settlers who intermarried with the first ilocano settlers of the place.

### Ipil massacre

On the morning of April 4, 1995, Ipil was attacked by approximately 200 heavily armed Abu Sayyaf militants who fired upon residents, strafed civilian homes, plundered banks, took up to 30 hostages and then burned the centre of the town to the ground.
The militants allegedly arrived in the town by boat and bus, and a number of them had been dressed in military clothing.
The town's Chief of Police was reportedly killed in the attack and close to a billion pesos were looted from eight commercial banks. Army commandos pursued some rebel gunmen in nearby mountains while officials said that the rebels were looting farms and seizing civilians as "human shields" as they fled the town of about 40 rebels, who may have taken hostages, were cornered in a school compound west of Ipil on April 6 when an elite army unit attacked. In the fighting that followed, the television station GMA reported, 11 civilians were killed.

## Geography

Ipil is located three hours from the key cities in the region (Dipolog, Pagadian and Zamboanga City). The Ipil seaport is 4 kilometres (2 mi) south of the town center.

### Barangays

Ipil is subdivided into 28 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.
* Bacalan
* Bangkerohan
* Buluan
* Caparan
* Domandan
* Don Andres
* Doña Josefa
* Guituan
* Ipil Heights
* Labe
* Logan
* Tirso Babiera (Lower Ipil Heights)
* Lower Taway
* Lumbia
* Maasin
* Magdaup
* Makilas
* Pangi
* Poblacion
* Sanito
* Suclema
* Taway
* Tenan
* Tiayon
* Timalang
* Tomitom
* Upper Pangi
* Veteran's Village

### Climate

Climate data for Ipil, Zamboanga Sibugay :
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 31 (88) | 30 (86) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 29 (84) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) | 30 (86) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 23 (73) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 25 (77) | 25 (77) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 24 (75) | 23 (73) | 24 (75) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 61 (2.4) | 55 (2.2) | 75 (3.0) | 81 (3.2) | 145 (5.7) | 189 (7.4) | 189 (7.4) | 197 (7.8) | 162 (6.4) | 181 (7.1) | 115 (4.5) | 70 (2.8) | 1,520 (59.9) |
| Average rainy days | 16.4 | 15.7 | 19.1 | 21.5 | 26.9 | 27.1 | 26.4 | 25.0 | 24.2 | 26.8 | 23.5 | 18.7 | 271.3 |
| Source: Meteoblue (modeled/calculated data, not measured locally) ||||||||||||||

## Demographics

| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 1960 | 21,141 | — |
| 1970 | 32,478 | +4.38% |
| 1975 | 35,798 | +1.97% |
| 1980 | 43,540 | +3.99% |
| 1990 | 43,031 | −0.12% |
| 1995 | 43,991 | +0.41% |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
| 2000 | 52,481 | +3.86% |
| 2007 | 60,686 | +2.02% |
| 2010 | 64,939 | +2.50% |
| 2015 | 74,656 | +2.69% |
| 2020 | 89,401 | +3.61% |
Source: Philippine Statistics Authority :

## Economy

Poverty incidence of Ipil
* 10
* 20
* 30
* 40
* 50
* 2000 42.84
* 2003 36.39
* 2006 29.30
* 2009 32.23
* 2012 19.67
* 2015 23.22
* 2018 22.30
* 2021 18.34
* Source: Philippine Statistics Authority
Ipil has the largest income and population in the province of Zamboanga Sibugay, and is considered to be a significant commercial and investing center in the province. The town also attracts many domestic tourists within its region. Many businesses, regional and national, have set their foot in the town. This includes Budgetwise Shopping Center and Cecile's Pharmacy, both businesses tracing its roots to nearby Zamboanga City, and Gaisano Grand Malls, which has opened its first mall in the region, Gaisano Grand Ipil.

## Government
### List of former chief executives

* Merjuar
* Generoso Sucgang
* Col Escalona
* Andres P. Olegario (1972 – 1986)
* Henry de Villa (1986 – 1988)
* José Fontanoza (1988 – 1992)
* Francisco Q. Pontanar (1992 – 1998)
* Rey Andre C. Olegario (1998 – 2007)
* Eldwin M. Alibutdan (2007 – 2016)
* Anamel C. Olegario (2016 – present)

## Healthcare

* Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Hospital
* Dr. Henry De Villa Memorial Hospital
* Dr. M. Simon Hospital
* Ipil Doctors Hospital

## Media
### Radio stations
#### AM

* DXUZ 1035 Radyo Lipay (Universidad de Zamboanga)

#### FM

* 88.7 Radyo Bisdak (Times Broadcasting Network Corporation)
* 92.7 XFM (XFM (Philippines)
* 94.3 Infinite Radio (St. Jude Thaddeus Institute of Technology)
* 95.3 Radyo Natin (Manila Broadcasting Company/Radyo Natin Network)
* 96.5 DABIG C Radio (Prime Broadcasting Network)
* 99.3 FM Radio Zamboanga Sibugay (Philippine Collective Media Corporation)
* 100.1 Juander Radyo (Capitol Broadcasting Center)
* 100.9 Brigada News FM (Brigada Mass Media Corporation)
* Magic 103.1 (EMedia Productions)

### Cable and Satellite TV

* Ipil Cable TV
* Cignal Digital TV
* G Sat Direct TV

### Newspapers

* Zamboanga Sibugay Tribune
* The Sibugay Express