Occidental Mindoro Philippines

Occidental Mindoro has two weather seasons, namely the rainy season and the dry season. The rainy season normally begins in mid May and lasts up to November. The wettest months being August and September when storms are most prevalent before changing into the dry season during December and January, the driest months in this season are March and April.

Landscape features of Occidental Mindoro are mountains, rivers, hills, valleys, wide plains and some small fresh water lakes.

The province is also home to one of the more popular coral reefs in the Philippines named the Apo Reef, which is a series of coral reefs

encompassing an area of 34 square kms. and are located 33kms off shore. It is the world's second-largest contiguous coral reef system and the largest in the Philippines. At Montangcob point on the Anahawin river, at a bend in the river there is boulder on the river bed which looks like an island and etched into the side of the boulder is what is clearly a skeletal impression of a snake. This boulder is said to be millions of years old.

Occidental Mindoro was originally known to the Chinese traders before the coming of the Spanish as Ma-i and later as Mait, it is also mentioned in the old Chinese chronicles when Chinese, Arab and Indian merchants traded with the natives.

In 1572 a Spanish expeditionary army sailed from Cebu to explored the West coast of the island where they encountered Moro settlers who tried to stop them from landing but were no match for the Spanish forces and fled into the hills. The Spanish having taken the Island named it Mina de Oro (mine of gold) but no major gold discoveries were ever made, this name was later shortened to Mindoro.

In 1602, Moro forces plundered the most important Spanish towns along the coasts of Mindoro and Southern Luzon, and subsequently re-established their hold in Mindoro by constructing a fort at Mamburao. From 1720 onwards Moro raids became devastating not only to the island's Hispanized communities but to other parts of the archipelago as well, carrying off the inhabitants to be sold as slaves in the slave markets of Jolo. In the 18th centuary the Spanish again gained control over the area the fort in Mamburao was abandoned, and the moros retreated to Mindanao to consolidate their forces and continue the Muslim resistance.

The Philippine revolution of 1896 saw the area freed from the Spaniards only to be re taken by American forces during the US-Filipino war.