Magsingal

The name of the municipality came from the term "Mayisingal," an Ilocano term which means "to be moved." It was applied when the belltower was moved from a previous location to its current site.

Captain Juan de Salcedo had a hand in founding the municipality; but before he reached the current site of the poblacion, he came to a village called Malongon, about half a kilometer to the south. The leader of the village refused Salcedo's request to establish a municipality there. He instead suggested that Salcedo establish the town a half kilometer north of the village, and the belltower be moved to that site, hence the origin of the town's name.

Itnegs were the original inhabitants of the place when Salcedo arrived. He attempted to convert the people to Christianity, but not all accepted the new faith. Those who refused conversion fled the town and settled to the east of Bantay Bul-lagaw (Bul-lagaw Mountain).

The Municipality of Magsingal is bordered by San Juan to the north, Santo Domingo and Bantay to the south, and Abra to the east.

Magsingal is situated 14.12 kilometres (8.77 mi) from the provincial capital Vigan, and 415.05 kilometres (257.90 mi) from the country's capital city of Manila.

In the 2024 census, Magsingal had a population of 31,970 people.^[13] The population density was 380 inhabitants per square kilometre (980/sq mi).

Poverty incidence of Magsingal

Source: Philippine Statistics Authority^{[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21]}

The Masingal Schools District Office governs all private and public educational institutions within the municipality.^[24]