MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL

Population

28th smallest Total (2007) 500,000 Area 19th smallest Total 1,939.3 km2 (749 sq mi)

languages

Cebuano

General Information

Misamis Occidental is a province of the Philippines located in the Northern Mindanao region. Its capital is Oroquieta City. The province borders Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur to the west and is separated from Lanao del Norte by Iligan Bay.

Geography

Misamis Occidental is located near the narrow strip of land linking northwestern Mindanao to the north central part of the island. It is bounded on the northeast by the Mindanao Sea, east by the Iligan Bay, southeast by the Panguil Bay, and west by Zamboanga del Norte and del Sur. The fact that three of its boundaries are bodies of water makes fishing as one of its main industries. Except along the coastal area, hilly and rolling lands characterize the provincial terrain. Towards the western border, the terrain is particularly rugged. The province falls between 6 and 9 degrees east longitude.

Economy

The economy depends firstly on fishing, secondly on coconuts, thirdly on rice. The province has 169 km of coastline fronting the rich fishing grounds of Panguil and Iligan bays. It also has the biggest area of brackish-water fishponds in the region. Tangub is a fishing port on Panguil Bay famous for seafood. Coconut is the chief crop. This is processed into oil, desiccated coconut, and coir, most of which are shipped to Cebu. Coconut processing is the main industry in Oroquieta. Other crops grown are rice, corn, abaca, coffee, cacao and rubber.

Culture

The dense population along the coast consists mainly of migrants from Cebu and Bohol, thus the major dialects are Cebuano and Boholano. The native Subanons live in the interior uplands.

Climate

The climate belongs to the Fourth type where rainfall is more or less fairly. distributed throughout the year. The average rainfall in the past twenty years was recorded at 182.5 millimeters. The rainiest months are November and December; the driest are February, March, and April. The entire province is outside the typhoon belt but it is sometimes affected by freak storms.

Transportation

Access to the province can be done from Cebu. Plain from Cebu to Ozamis a few times a week. Aerolift service from Cebu and Manila route every morning, every other day bound for Ozamis. From Cebu, there is also a boat that sails at least twice a week.

Tourism Level of Security

Low Level