History of Sagay City
Sagay City was formerly known as Arguellas. It was founded by Teniente Francisco Rodriguez and
Basilio Cordova on 1860 in the mouth of the Bulanon River. Later, by the order of the Spanish
governor, the town was transferred to Pueblo de Magallanes (now known as Old Sagay) to honor
Fernando Magallanes.
It was in 1906 that the name of the town was changed into Sagay. It was taken from the semi-
spherical shell called “sigay”, which can be found in the area. At this period of Sagay’s history, land
trasportation began to supplant sea travel but the seaside community continued to flourish.
As of 2010, Sagay City recorded a population of 140,740, all living in a land area of
330.34 km2 (127.54 sq mi). Sagay City is located along the northeastern coast of Negros Island. It is
bounded on the north by the Visayan Sea, on the east by Escalante City and the town of Toboso, on
the south by the town of Calatrava, and on the west by the cities of Cadiz and Silay.
Lawless elements
Three (3) members of the CPP-NPA Terrorist were killed in a clash with
troops of the Army’s 79 th Infantry (Masaligan) Battalion in Calatrava, Negros
Occidental at about 5:30 in the afternoon, April 17, 2019.
After receiving several reports from the concerned local populace who are
complaining about the extortion activities of the CPP-NPA Terrorist in the area,
Lieutenant Colonel Emelito Thaddeus Logan, the Battalion Commander of 79IB,
immediately deployed his troops to conduct security patrol at the vicinity of
Sitio Banwa Minatay, Brgy Marcelo of the said town where they encountered
more or less Twelve (12) communist-terrorists.
The said CPP-NPA terrorist said to be equipped with several high powered
firearms and other war materials including One (1) AK 47 rifle, One (1) M16
rifle, Seven (7) AK47 magazines with live ammunitions, Five (5) M16 magazines
with live ammunitions, Four (4) M14 magazines with live ammunitions, Three
(3) Rifle grenades, two (2) handheld radios, backpacks, personal belongings
and subversive documents with high intelligence value,
On January 9, 2020 at 8:00PM more or less twelve fully armed men
carrying long unidentified firearms were sighted along the creek of Sitio
Alangahag, Barangay Tamlang, Escalante City and moving towards at the
vicinity of Brgy. General Luna, Sagay City, Negros Occidental.
Political Killing
The Sagay massacre occurred when a group of gunmen shot and killed nine sugarcane
farmers, including four women and two children, while they were eating dinner in a makeshift tent on
a farm in Sagay, Negros Occidental on October 20, 2018. The farmers were members of the
National Federation of Sugar Workers, and the massacre may have been motivated by on-going
conflicts over land reform in the Philippines.
Armed men reportedly attacked a makeshift tent in the sugarcane farm in Hacienda Nene, Purok
Fire Tree, Barangay Bulanon on October 20, 2018 and began shooting, killing nine farmers. Three of
the victims were also burned after they were killed.
Attacks
In Negros Occidental, the government mentioned the deadly attack against the
62nd Infantry Battalion while conducting clearing and combat operations in
preparation for the barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in Kabankalan
City in May and the massacre of nine farmers in Sagay on October 20, 2018.
