Sarrat

ONCE THE capital of Ilocos Norte, Sarrat was last thrust to national prominence during the wedding of Irene R. Marcos—daughter of the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos. Since then, it has reverted back to being a sleepy town.

On April 9, 2016 over at Bombo Radyo Laoag’s “Debate sa Bombo,” Sarrat was put in the spotlight. The two mayoralty candidates—former Sarrat Mayor Corazon R. Abad and former Sarrat Vice Mayor Remigio B. Medrano—slugged it out. Issues were brought out and plans were revealed.

A lot of people did take notice. After all, Sarrat is also the birth place of Ilocos Norte’s most famous and beloved personality—the former President Marcos. And both candidates acknowledged the fact that Sarrat was slowly being outpaced by other towns in Ilocos Norte. San Nicolas, which is also a Laoag neighboring municipality is now almost a city; Piddig which is farther from the provincial capital has grown by leaps and bounds; and Sarrat has remained almost stagnant in terms of development.

That Sarrat should have taken advantage of possible business overflow from Laoag City the way San Nicolas grabbed the opportunity didn’t happen. Neither did the town make the most out of existing opportunities.

Of course, blame could not be laid down solely on the current administration. All the successes the other municipalities now enjoy began a long time ago. All of them have been a slow build—methodical, surgical and very forward-looking. The only flaw that could be attributed to Sarrat’s current state is the inability of its leaders to set long-term goals that they could have slowly—but surely—attained in time. Unfortunately, not one of the previous administrations came up with a solid development plan.

The bridging of the municipality southern and northern portions of the municipality should have given them a lot of opportunities. But travelling through Sarrat to eastern Ilocos Norte was not only boring and tiresome, it has become uncomfortable. Save for a handful of gasoline stations, there are no restaurants, convenience stores or even tourist shops that would have catered to both local and domestic tourists. Travelers would have to wait until the next town to buy whatever they may need.

The mentality—boastfully emphasized by a Sarrat resident—that all they need are all in Laoag is not only awkward but more so self-defeating. It paints their lack of pride on their town and probably their contentment for their town to remain what it is today.

Sarrat is slowly being left behind by other towns in the province. And should both residents and officials let it so, the town would stick out like a sore thumb with all other towns taking advantage of the tourism and agriculture boom in the province.

But just as in all other cases, it is the Sarrateños decision. However, they should also remember that time is no longer on their side. And should they again miss this opportunity, Sarrat would indeed become the forgotten town.