Philippines – Manila Davao Borocay – Travel Food Entertainment

• Although underrated, the province of Misamis Occidental, located in the North Central part of Mindanao, is at present evidently one of the most fast-developing provinces in the Philippines.

Above: Mangrove swamp forest at the MOAP

• Due to the fact that three of the province’s boundaries are bodies of water [Panguil Bay (southeast), Iligan bay (east), and the Mindanao sea (northeast)], the economy of Misamis Occidental depends mainly on fishing—total area of the wetland is approximately 4,579 hectares. Moreover, other major industries in the province are coconuts, rice, and corn.
• In fact, the province is famous for seafood, and it is known to have the biggest brackish water area in the region (2.36% of the province includes fishponds, a lake, and mangrove swamp forests).
• At the present time, one of the provincial government’s biggest project is the Misamis Occidental Aquamarine Park (MOAP), which include a mini-zoo and a dolphin island that display abundant exotic animals and friendly dolphins.

Above: The adorable dolphins at the dolphin island

• What is considered to be the Province’s lifeblood is the Mount Malindang National Park, a very important biodiversity refuge and the home to the Philippine eagle, the Philippine hawk eagle, the Philippine brown deer, and the Rufous hornbill. The highest mountain in the Zamboanga Peninsula, Mount Malindang is occupied mostly by members of the Subanen tribe.
• The province is composed of fourteen municipalities and three cities, Oroquieta city being the provincial capital. Oroquieta was the Philippines’ cleanest and greenest city in 2002, and the Layawan river, found also in Oroquieta, was chosen as the cleanest river on the same year.
• The name Misamis was thought to derive from the word “kuyamis”, which refers to a variety of sweet coconut (the chief crop of the province).

Above: Your way to the dolphin island