Located at the northernmost tip of the Province of Ilocos Sur, bounded by Badoc, Ilocos Norte in the north, by Cabugao in the south, by the Ilocos Coastal Range in the east and the South China Sea in the west
Land Area: 7,800 has./78 sq.kms. Number of Barangays - 44
Income Classification: 3rd Class Municipality
Population - 26,494 (projected)
Distance from Service Centers:
Sinait - Ma
nila – 444 kms. Creation: Named “SIN-NAIT” by Salcedo in 1575, a word in the local tongue which means “CONTEST” and later in 1913 through a Municipal Council Resolution adopted SINAIT as the official name to that effect. LEGEND:
Before Magellan discovered the Philippines in 1521, the locality was only a small village of little over a hundred natives who were called Tirongs. by nature, these primitive inhabitants were sea-fearing warlike. In their fast and picturesque sailboats, they traveled to adjoining and distant places, most particularly to settlements and villages along the Ilocos Coast in Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan and even Zambales. In those adventures, the “Tirongs “ always challenged the people encountered to tribal wars and fought small battles against them. Often, those sturdy and brave natives came out victorious. Even in their daily chores, those people showed their ferocious characteristics. When the renowned Iberians came, Salcedo was sent to explore and colonized the Ilocos territory during the early years of the Spanish regime, he found the “Tirongs” of Sinait in apogee of the social state. Small battles were daily occurrence so that in the year 1535, when the locality was organized and established as a “Pueblo” Salcedo named the new community as “SIN-NAIT”, a word in the local tongue which means “CONTEST”. As a pueblo, SINAIT embraced and included in its territorial limit such as distant places as RANCHERA DE PAUR”, now the Municipality of Nueva Era in Ilocos Norte and Southern barrios of Badoc of the same Province. The vast territory, however, was reduced to present 78 square kilometers. In the year 1575, the natives fully realized the hardships of pronouncing the term “SIN-NAIT” and to go away with the trouble, Salcedo declared that one of the letter “N” be dropped. Since then, this Municipality has been called “SINAIT”. Nevertheless, it was only in 1913 when the same was “deeded” by the government upon the initiative of the late Don Calixto Cabacungan so that the Municipality Council enacted a resolution to that effect, that SINAIT was adopted as official name of the community to which said resolution was duly approved by the Provincial board of Ilocos Sur and by the Defunct Philippine Legislature. CREATION OF THE MUNICIPALITY:
From the early position as a “pueblo, it was only in 1913 when the name “SINAIT” was “deeded” by the government upon the initiative of the late Don Calixto Cabacungan, who served as Municipal President from 1914 to 1916, so that the Municipal Council enacted a resolution to that effect, that Sinait was adopted as official name of the community to which said resolution was duly approved by the Provincial Board of Ilocos Sur and by the Defunct Philippine Legislature. This deed was initiated by Don Calixto Cabacungan who served as Municipal President from 1914 to 1916. It was a long hard climb before the municipality has attained this eminence. Sometime in the 70’s, there was a nation-wide dip in the production of garlic. As a result, it suddenly went into high demand everywhere in the country due to scarcity of supply in the market, which the price of this spice naturally soared. Not to be outdone and seeing a good chance, the smart Ilocano farmer shifted to planting garlic on a commercial scale. This was the beginning of the introduction of garlic production in the locality which then spread everywhere in all Barangays. Sensing a bright future of the industry which eventually became like hot cake to Sinait farmers, a Garlic Trading Center was established right at the frontage of the old public market. So, the farmers were requested to bring their products during Fridays, the prime market day. Because at that time, unscrupulous buyers went directly to their farmlands for their trading spree not to exclude relentless profiting scheme which were not favorable to the hardworking tiller but to the industry itself. The strategy prospered that as far other regions like Bicol and Manila flocked and converged at the center to buy volumes and truckloads of the commodity. Then the Municipality of Sinait slowly marked its name and identity on the Philippine map as the Trading Center in the entire Ilocandia, in the Commerce and Trade spectra. Garlic and onions displayed in a 500- meter stretch commercial zone on both sides of the Manila North Road.Sinait is known as the “Garlic Center of the North” since 1970 because of the fact that the said Municipality found in the northernmost tip of the province of Ilocos Sur is the center of garlic trading in the whole Northern Luzon in which thousands of traders and buyers coming from all parts of the country flock every Friday to the Sinait Public Market now the Sinait Food Terminal Center (SFTC) just to buy famous garlic of Sinait. ONE TOWN ONE PRODUCT
Through One Town One Product (OTOP), every municipality takes lead in identifying, developing, and promoting a specific product which has a competitive advantage. Since Sinait is primarily an agricultural town and is the main source of garlic in the region, the municipality celebrates the Annual Garlic Festival to showcase their primary product, “Bawang”, as it is called in the Iluko dialect. It is the main source of pride of the town due to its unique aroma and taste compared to larger imported garlic. The Municipality chose the commodity garlic as its OTOP to improve yields, develop the garlic industry and to make Sinait as the Garlic Capital of the Philippines.
