Sanchez Mira, officially the Municipality of Sanchez Mira, is a 3rd class municipality in the province of Cagayan, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 26,164 people. It is 155 km from the provincial capital Tuguegarao and 632 km from Manila. Lying on a latitude of 18 degrees, 34 minutes north and a longitude of 121 degrees, 14 minutes east, the municipality is bounded on the north by the Babuyan Channel; on the south by the municipality of Luna, Apayao; on the east by the municipality of Pamplona, Cagayan; and on the west by the municipality of Claveria, Cagayan.

History

Formerly called Malukkit or Naluqui, meaning "a place of conflict/destruction", the name "Sanchez Mira" was given in honor of Manuel Sanchez Mira, a Spanish Brigadier General assigned in the Cagayan Valley who served as alcalde mayor of Cagayan. It was formally established as a town in 1894. Its first inhabitants were mostly Ilocanos from Paoay, Ilocos Norte. They came from notable families such as the Negre, Mackay, Cacatian, Marzan, and Paclibon.

Geography

Barangays

Sanchez Mira is politically subdivided into 18 barangays. Each barangay consists of puroks while some have sitios.

Climate

Demographics

In the 2020 census, the population of Sanchez Mira was 26,164 people, with a density of undefined PD/km2.

Economy

Government

Local government

Sanchez Mira, belonging to the second legislative district of the province of Cagayan, is governed by a mayor designated as its local chief executive and by a municipal council as its legislative body in accordance with the Local Government Code. The mayor, vice mayor, and the councilors are elected directly by the people through an election which is being held every three years.

Town hall

The current Sanchez Mira Municipal Hall was built during the tenure of Mayor Napoleon Cabuyadao Sacramed.

Elected officials

Education

The Schools Division of Cagayan governs the town's public education system. The division office is a field office of the DepEd in Cagayan Valley region. The office governs the public and private elementary and public and private high schools throughout the municipality. The first Methodist high school in the Philippines, Thoburn Memorial Academy, was established in 1945, right after World War II, by Juan Agcaoili Aragones and his wife, Serapia Perdido Negre.