The
name Misamis Oriental was derived from the word Misa, a Spanish
term for mass or a church rite. When
Christianity was still new in the Philippines, the converts
were usually heard to shout "Misa!, Misa!" every time
the priests traveled in the area. Thus, over a period of time,
the Spanish missionaries called the province "Misamis".
Other
sources revealed the word "Misamis" is derived from
"KUYAMIS", a variety of sweet coconut which was the
staple food of the earliest known Negrito settlers of the territory.
The word "KUYAMIS" was corrupted to Misamis when the
Spanish colonizers came.
Physical
Characteristics
Location
The
Province of Misamis Oriental is one of the five (5) provinces
of Northern Mindanao and situated along
the northern coast of the resource-rich Mindanao Island. It
is bounded on the north by Macajalar Bay, on the west by Iligan
Bay; on the east by Agusan del Norte; and on the south and southwest
by the provinces of Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte respectively.
It
has two (2) major bays- Macajalar Bay on the western part and
Gingoog Bay on the eastern portion. Its strategic location and
large open bays make the province the principal distribution
center of the region. Being the gateway to Mindanao, it has
become a major transshipment hub which justified the approval
of major transportation projects.
Political
Subdivision
The province
has two (2) cities: its capital, the charter city of Cagayan
de Oro and its component city of Gingoog. It has 24 municipalities:
14 on the eastern side and 10 on the western side. The farthest
municipality on the western side is Lugait and on the eastern
side is Magsaysay. Misamis Oriental has a total of 422 barangays.
Land
Area
The province
has a total land area of 3,102.90 square kilometers. Claveria,
the only land-locked municipality, has the largest area
at 894.90 square kilometers while the smallest municipality
is Binuangan with an area of 30.00 square kilometers.
Topography
Misamis Oriental
is characteristically rugged where mountains and hills occupy
approximately seventy percent (70%) of total land area.
The highlands are punctuated by mountain ranges, coastal
plains and valleys are traversed by rivers of various forms
and sizes that provide underground water supply throughout
the area. On the eastern portion of the province are two
(2) inactive volcanic cones - Mt. Balatucan, which at 2,560
meters, is the highest peak and Mt. Lumot.
Soil
Type
The
soil type of the province is predominantly clay, alluvium,
shale, sandstone, corraline & limestone, which are abundant
in some municipalities.
Climate
The
Province is blissfully located outside the typhoon belt
and earthquake faults. The coldest month is noted in January
while the hottest is August. The dry season is from November
to April and wet season is from May to October. Average
temperature is 27 Centigrade.
Land
Use Classification
The province
is generally classified into forestland (47% of land area)
and 53% are alienable and disposable lands. But as of 1996,
DENR-10 reported that forestland now occupies only an area
of 6,243 hectares.
Demographic
Profile
Population
For
censal Year 2000, the province registered the largest population
at 1.126 million people among the five (5) provinces of Northern
Mindanao, with more or less 41% recorded as Cagayan de Oro’s
population. The residents of the province are a mixture of Maranaw,
Spanish, American and Chinese blood.
|
CITY/MUNICIPALITY
|
LAND AREA (IN SQ. KMS.)
|
POPULATION 2000
|
GROWTH RATE (%)
|
DENSITY (PERSONS/ SQ. (KM)
|
|
Misamis
Oriental |
3,570.10
|
664,338 |
2.17
|
186
|
|
Cagayan
de Oro City |
412.80
|
461,877
|
1.57
|
1,119
|
|
Gingoog
City |
404.60
|
102,379
|
3.41
|
253
|
|
Alubijid |
63.00
|
23,397
|
1.56
|
371
|
|
Balingasag |
123.70
|
51,782
|
2.56
|
419
|
|
Balingoan |
57.80
|
8,197
|
1.78
|
142
|
|
Binuangan |
30.00
|
5,924
|
2.11
|
198
|
|
Claveria |
894.90
|
41,109
|
1.12
|
46
|
|
El
Salvador |
136.70
|
34,650
|
2.06
|
254
|
|
Gitagum |
37.50
|
13,522
|
3.87
|
361
|
|
Initao |
116.50
|
27,035
|
3.20
|
232
|
|
Jasaan |
87.20
|
39,969
|
3.79 |
458
|
|
Kinoguitan |
22.10
|
10,519
|
0.23
|
476
|
|
Lagonglong
|
56.00
|
16,882
|
2.19
|
302
|
|
Laguindingan
|
39.40
|
18,451
|
2.39
|
468
|
|
Libertad |
37.50
|
10,231
|
2.16
|
273
|
|
Lugait
|
22.50
|
14,704
|
2.65
|
654
|
|
Magsaysay |
181.00
|
24,550
|
0.73
|
136
|
|
Manticao |
112.60
|
24,072
|
1.33 |
214
|
|
Medina |
126.10
|
25,810
|
2.20
|
205
|
|
Naawan
|
88.50
|
16,173
|
2.25
|
183
|
|
Opol |
150.00
|
36,389
|
9.37
|
243
|
|
Salay |
64.80
|
19,664
|
0.83
|
304
|
|
Sugbongcogon |
23.10
|
7,362
|
1.22
|
319
|
|
Tagoloan |
87.20
|
46,649
|
2.84
|
535
|
|
Talisayan |
137.80
|
19,959
|
0.23
|
145
|
|
Villanueva
|
48.80
|
24,867
|
3.36
|
510
|
| Source:
NSO |
Language
Spoken
The
local dialect is Cebuano but majority
of the people can speak and understand Tagalog and English.
Other ethnic dialects are Higaonon, Ilongo, Waray among others.
Religious
Affiliation
Roman
Catholic is the dominant religion, practiced by almost 80 percent
of the population. Other religious affiliations include Protestants,
Baptists, Evangelicals, Iglesia Ni Kristo, Philippine Independent
Church, Islam and Pentecostal.
Socio-Economic
Profile
Average
Annual Family Income
In
2000, Misamis Oriental has an average annual family income and
expenditure of PhP89,640.00 and PhP70,989.00 respectively.
Labor
Force
Being
the region’s educational center, one of the major assets of
the province is its human resource. Highly educated and trainable
labor force composed of young professionals, technical people
and skilled workforce are readily available in the area.
The
National Statistics Office survey on labor force conducted in
October 2003 revealed the following figures:
| |
Misamis Oriental
|
| Labor
Force ('000 ) |
1,802 |
| Employed
('000 ) |
1,685
|
| Unemployed
('000 ) |
117 |
| Employment
Rate (%) |
93.5
|
| Unemployment
Rate (%) |
6.5
|
| Source
: NSO, Cagayan de Oro City |
Education
For
the SY 2000-2001, the province’ inventory of educational institutions,
both private and public, is recorded at 632. These institutions
cater to primary, secondary, tertiary and vocational/technical
education.
The
educational system is similar throughout the country. School
year starts in June and ends in March. English is the medium
of instruction used in most schools.
Cagayan
de Oro is known as the center for higher learning for the
whole region if not in Mindanao. In pursuit of quality education,
the three (3) universities and one of its colleges were selected
by the CHED as Centers for Development and Excellence ---
Xavier University (Engineering, Chemistry, Medicine, Business
Education and Socio-Anthropology), Liceo de Cagayan University
(Nursing), Capitol University (Computer Education) and Mindanao
Polytechnic State College (Mathematics). Outside of Cagayan
de Oro, every municipality in the province has educational
institutions of at least secondary level while Gingoog City
has five (5) college institutions.
To
keep up with technological Advancement in Information Technology,
the country’s leading ICT Schools are now in the area namely,
STI, AMA College and Informatics.
Health
Facilities
There
are 24 hospitals in Misamis Oriental, 10 of which are government-run
and 14 are privately-owned. The Provincial Government
Of Misamis Oriental also operate district hospitals in the
municipalities of Initao and Talisayan, as well as in Gingoog
City; Medicare hospitals in the municipalities of Manticao
and Balingasag; municipal hospitals in Claveria and Magsaysay.
In addition to the hospitals, there are 49 Barangay Health
Centers that provide minor health services. For specialized
health care, there are 66 family planning clinics and 200
medical or dental clinics.
Most
private hospitals and the Northern Mindanao Regional Hospital
are already equipped with the latest medical equipment like
the CT-SCAN to provide adequate and immediate relief in cases
of emergencies and complicated medical cases. Specialized
private clinics for dental, therapeutic, optical and diagnostic
services provide additional medical support.
|
TYPE OF HOSPITAL
|
CDO
|
MOR
|
TOTAL
|
TOTAL NUMBER OF BEDS (CDO/MOR)
|
|
Private
|
10
|
5
|
15
|
750
|
|
Government
|
3
|
7
|
10
|
660
|
|
TOTAL
|
13
|
12
|
25
|
1,410
|
| Source
: Department of Health, CDO |
Housing
Facilities
Development
in construction and real estate has been massive and very
aggressive in the last five (5) years. As of May 2001, Misamis
Oriental has a total of one hundred fourteen (114) subdivisions.
These subdivisions cater to the needs of the low-income as
well as the high-end customers. Real estate developers
usually offer a packaged house and lot with a minimum lot
area of 80 square meters.
At least three (3) real estate developers provide modern facilities
and amenities - from commercial centers, educational institutions,
churches, sports and country club facilities, golf courses,
etc.
|
LOCATION
|
NO.
OF SUBDIVISION |
|
Cagayan
de Oro City |
101
|
|
Misamis
Oriental |
13
|
|
Total
|
114
|
|
Source:
Housing & Land Use Regulatory Board (HLURB), Cagayan
de Oro City |
Raw Material
Resources
Misamis
Oriental is self-sufficient in some agricultural crops. Almost
half (43%) of the province's total land area is planted to
various crops like industrial and non-food, cereal, fruit
and vegetable and rootcrops. The top five (5) agricultural
products are coconut, banana, corn, rice, papaya and cassava.
The
province is also one of the country's major producers of coconut.
This explains the presence of coco-based processing plants
in the province such as Pilipinas Kao, Inc., Fiesta Brands,
IndoPhil Oil Mills, Limketkai and Sons Milling Corporation,
Pacific Activated Carbon Company.
The
hog population remains the highest among the livestock, comprising
72.25%, in 2002 while poultry production is showing an
increasing trend brought about by the entry of leading multi-national
food processors promoting contract-growing schemes.
