Municipality of Bacarra

Bacarra is situated at the center of the western side of Ilocos Norte. It is about 495 kilometers north of Manila and seven kilometers north of Laoag City, the capital of the province. The town is bounded by Laoag City on the south, by Vintar on the east, Pasuquin on the north, and the China Sea on the west.

It is traversed by the cemented national highway that links the town to Manila and Cagayan Valley. Hence, the people can easily avail themselves of the services of the different buses plying between Bacarra and Laoag and from Laoag to the northern towns of the province, Manila, and Cagayan, Kalinga and Apayao. Properly maintained feeder roads and wooden or cemented bridges connect the barangays to the poblacion or the national highway. This makes it easy for small buses, jeepney, and motorized tricycles to reach even the remotes barangay in the town. Hence, transportation is not a problem of the people of Bacarra.

Bacarra occupies a land area of about 6,607 hectares. It holds third rank, after Laoag City and Batac, in size of urban area. The major portion of its land area is cultivated and planted with various agricultural crops the whole year round.

The eastern part of the town consists of rolling terrain, while the western side has narrow strips of flat land. The central part is basically similar to the western part, which gradually rises up to the eastern boundary with moderate elevation of 50 to 150 feet above sea level above sea level. Low hills, with fine timbers, run northward on the eastern side of Bacarra.

The eastern part of the municipality has a clay loam soil, while the western side is generally sandy.

Bacarra experiences two different seasons, wet season from May to October, and dry seasons, from November to April, June, July and August are the wettest months. The average annual temperature is about 27.5oC. the warmest period is between April and June, while the coldest season is from December to February.

One main river, the Bacarra - Vintar River, flows into the China Sea, and several brooks and creeks traverse the different parts of the town. These are harnessed by the people for irrigation. However, their water supply weakens during the dry season, so that only those at the upper stream are benefited.

The municipality has 43 barangays, 18 of which constitute the poblacion. The barangays in the poblacion are the following: Santa Rita, Brgy. No. 1; San Andres, Brgy. No. 2; San Andres, Brgy. No. 3; San Simon, Brgy. No. 4; San Simon, Brgy. No. 5; San Pdro, Brgy. No. 6; San Pedro, Brgy. No. 7; San Agustin, Brgy. No. 8; San Agustin, Brgy. No. 9; San Vicente, Brgy. No. 10; Santa Filomena, Brgy. No. 11; Santa Filomena, Brgy. No. 12; San Gabriel, Brgy. No. 13; San Gabriel, Brgy. No. 14; San Roque, Brgy. No. 15; San Roque, Brgy. No. 16; Santo Cristo, Brgy. No. 17; and Santo Cristo, Brgy. No. 18. The 25 barangays outside the town are the following: Bani, Cabusligan, Buyon, Cabaruan, Cabulalaan, Calioet-Libtong, Casilian, Corocor, Curarig, Duripes, Ganagan, Libtong, Macupit, Nambaran, Natba, Paninaan, Pansian, Pipias, Pulangi, Punto, Sangil, Tambidao, Teppang and Tuburan.

The ministry of Bacarra was established by the Augustinians on June 26, 1591 under the patronage of San Andres Apostol (Foronda and Foronda, 1973), with Vintar, Pasuquin, Bangisan, Banbang, Adang and Bera as its visitas in the early part of its foundation (Foronda and Foronda, 1972). However, Bacarra, too, was a visita of Laoag by virtue of an independent ministry in 614.

Economic Development.

The hardworking people of Bacarra are predominantly farmers. They raise a variety of crops throughout the year, both for subsistence and cash purposes. Rice, which is planted twice a year, is the principal crop on which the people spend much of their time and attention. Garlic, which is often referred to as “white gold” is regarded as the most important cash crop.

Beside rice and garlic the people also produce native tobacco, corn, mongo, beans, camote, squash and onion. The people are engaged in fishing when they are not busy in their farm work.