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PROVINCIAL PROFILE OF MISAMIS OCCIDENTAL
FAST FACTS
Capital : Oroquieta
Area : 1,939 sq km
Population : 423,243
Cities : Oroquieta, Ozamis, Tangub
No. of Towns : 14
Click Here To View The
List Of Towns.
LOCATION
Misamis Occidental forms the eastern end of the Zamboanga
Peninsula in
northwestern Mindanao. It is bounded by water on three sides: on
the north
by the Mindanao Sea, on the east by Iligan Bay, and on the south
by Panguil
Bay. On its western side are Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga
del Sur.
THE LAND
In the east is a narrow coastal plain dominated by rice and
coconut lands. In
the west are rolling hills and rugged mountains with dense
forests towards the
boundary with the Zamboanga provinces. The highest peaks are Mt.
Malindang (2,425 m) in the south and Mt. Ampiro (1,532 m) in the
north.
Lake Duminagat is said to be related to the volcanic nature of
Mt. Malindang.
The provincial capital is on an estuary at the end of Oroquieta
River. Rainfall
evenly distributed throughout the year makes the are suitable for
year-round
production of major food and commercial crops. The entire
province lies off
the typhoon belt.
A BRIEF HISTORY
Legislative Act. No. 3537, passed on November 2, 1929, divided
the old
province of Misamis into Misamis Occidental and Misamis Oriental.
Misamis
was also the name of the early Spanish settlement at the entrance
to the
narrow 37 km. long Panguil Bay. In earlier times, Misamis was
originally
inhabited by the Subanon, who were easy prey to the sea pirates
from Lanao.
As the Subanon retreated deeper and deeper into the interior,
this area became
home to migrants form Bukidnon and later from Cebu and Bohol. In
1707,
the Spaniards built the seafront Fort Santiago or Kota to counter
Muslim
raids.
By 1850, the town of Misamis had grown in importance as an
ecclesiastical
and trading center. It was made the capital of the District of
Misamis, then
composed of the two Misamis, Zamboanga del Norte, Lanao del
Norte,
Bukidnon, and Camiguin. In 1948, the town was converted into a
city and
renamed Ozamis in honor of Jose Ozamis, the first elected
governor of the
province of Misamis.
THE PEOPLE
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.
COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Fishing is the main industry. The province has 131 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.
Information gathered from:
League of
Provinces
by:Roberto C. Arellano
This page last revised:February 02, 1999.
