A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
Oriental Mindoro | |
|---|---|
| Province of Oriental Mindoro | |
      (From top: left to right) Puerto Galera, Lake Naujan, Mount Halcon, Puerto Galera white beach, Calapan and Sabang Bay. | |
 Flag  Seal | |
| Anthem: Martsa ng Silangang Mindoro (Oriental Mindoro March) | |
 Location in the Philippines | |
OpenStreetMap  | |
| Coordinates: 13°00′N 121°25′E / 13°N 121.42°E | |
| Country | Philippines |
| Region | Mimaropa |
| Founded | November 15, 1950[1] |
| Capital and largest city | Calapan |
| Government | |
| • Type | Sangguniang Panlalawigan |
| • Governor | Humerlito "Bonz" A. Dolor (PDP–Laban) |
| • Vice Governor | Ejay L. Falcon (PDP–Laban) |
| • Legislature | Oriental Mindoro Provincial Board |
| Area | |
| • Total | 4,238.38 km2 (1,636.45 sq mi) |
| • Rank | 28th out of 81 |
| Highest elevation | 2,616 m (8,583 ft) |
| Population (2020 census)[3] | |
| • Total | 908,339 |
| • Rank | 33rd out of 81 |
| • Density | 210/km2 (560/sq mi) |
| • Rank | 47th out of 81 |
| Divisions | |
| • Independent cities | 0 |
| • Component cities | 1 |
| • Municipalities | |
| • Barangays | 426 |
| • Districts | Legislative districts of Oriental Mindoro |
| Time zone | UTC+8 (PHT) |
| ZIP code | 5200–5214 |
| IDD : area code | +63 (0)43 |
| ISO 3166 code | PH-MDR |
| Spoken languages | |
| Website | www |
Oriental Mindoro (Tagalog: Silangang Mindoro), officially the Province of Oriental Mindoro (Tagalog: Lalawigan ng Silangang Mindoro (Oriental Mindoro)), is a province in the Philippines located on the island of Mindoro under Mimaropa region in Luzon, about 140 kilometres (87 mi) southwest of Manila. The province is bordered by the Verde Island Passage and the rest of Batangas to the north, by Marinduque, Maestre de Campo (or known as Sibale but official name is Concepcion) Island, Tablas Strait and the rest of Romblon to the east, by Semirara and the rest of Caluya Islands, Antique to the south, and by Occidental Mindoro to the west. Calapan, the only city in the island, is the provincial capital and Mimaropa's regional center.
Oriental Mindoro is touted as the country's emerging eco-tourism destination. In 2005, the Philippines was found to be the center of marine fish biodiversity and the home of the most diverse marine ecosystem in the world,[4] by American biologists Kent Carpenter and Victor Springer. Most of the endemic species in the Philippines are found in the Verde Island Passage between Mindoro island and the main island of Luzon. The passage houses 2,983 individual species of algae, corals, crustaceans, mollusks, fishes, marine reptiles, and marine mammals, based on a study conducted by Carpenter and Springer in 2005.
UNESCO declared Puerto Galera a biosphere reserve[5] under its Man and the Biosphere Programme in the 1970s. The Verde Island Passage is at the apex of the so-called Coral Triangle – the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia – which has the distinction of being the "center of the center of the world's marine biodiversity" and the "center of the center of marine shorefish biodiversity".
History
 | This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (June 2016) |
Japanese occupation era
A Japanese force landed on northeastern Mindoro in the Philippine Islands on 27 February 1942.
Almost three years later, after the invasion of Mindoro by Allied forces, they proceeded to land to Bongabong and heading to and capturing Calapan, the capital of the united Mindoro Province at the time on 24 January 1945.
Philippine independence
Foundation
After World War II, reconstruction and rehabilitation of infrastructure and economy took place on the island, which then constituted a single province. This was partitioned on 13 June 1950 into Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro by virtue of Republic Act No. 505.[6]
In the decades after the War, Mindoro attracted settlers from overpopulated provinces in the Philippines. Apart from the hope to become landowners or to have better tenancy conditions, the Hukbalahap Rebellion in Central Luzon was an important factor for migration. Under the settlement program of the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration (NARRA) founded in 1954, families from Central Luzon were settled in the Bongabong-Pinamalayan area. This project ended in 1956 after 606 families (3,636 people) were settled on 8,600 hectares (21,000 acres) of public land. Since then, new settlers continue to migrate to Mindoro until today.
Contemporary
On November 15, 1994, a magnitude 7.1 earthquake struck the Verde Island Passage located north of Oriental Mindoro, killing 69 people in the province, with most casualties due to the tsunami caused by the earthquake.[7] Within a year after the calamity, however, the provincial government under Governor Rodolfo G. Valencia was able to successfully rehabilitate the province in a brisk manner, and was thus conferred the Disaster Management Award by the National Disaster Coordinating Council in July 1995.[8]
The island currently sees an ongoing conflict between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and insurgents. On March 6, 2010, eleven soldiers were killed and seven were hurt in a gun battle with the New People's Army in Mansalay, Oriental Mindoro.[9]
Geography
Oriental Mindoro covers a total area of 4,238.38 square kilometres (1,636.45 sq mi)[10] occupying the eastern section of Mindoro island in Mimaropa region. The province is bordered by the Verde Island Passage to the north, by Marinduque, Maestre de Campo, Tablas Strait and the rest of Romblon to the east, by Semirara and the rest of Caluya Islands, Antique to the south, and by Occidental Mindoro to the west.
The western portion of the province is mountainous or rugged, while the east has hills and flood plains. Mount Halcon, standing 2,582 metres (8,471 ft) above sea level, is the 18th highest mountain in the country and is the province's and island's highest peak. Lake Naujan, the fifth largest lake in the country with an area of approximately 8,125 hectares (20,080 acres) of open water, is located at the northeastern part of the island and the province.
Administrative divisions
Oriental Mindoro comprises 14 municipalities, with one city, Calapan serving as the provincial capital.
- † Provincial capital and component city
- Municipality