Oriental Mindoro Day in the Philippines Date in the current year: November 15, 2024

Oriental Mindoro is a province located on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, which it shares with the province of Occidental Mindoro. The name “Mindoro” is believed to be the Hispanicized version of the island’s native name, “Minolo”. However, there is a legend that the Spaniards originally named the island Mina de Oro because they believed it had large gold deposits.

Historians believe that the first settlers on Mindoro were the Indonesians, followed by the Malays. There is evidence that Mindoro merchants traded with Chinese, Arab and Indian traders as early as the late 9th century. In China, the island was known as Mai.

The first Europeans to set foot in Mindoro were the Spanish conquistador Miguel López de Legazpi and his men, who brought the island under Spanish rule in 1571. A year later, Augustinian friars arrived to convert the natives to Christianity. The Franciscans took over in 1578, followed by the Jesuits.

Originally administered as part of Bonbon Province (later replaced by Balayan Province), Mindoro became a separate province in the early 17th century. The island was rather sparsely populated; although the Spanish authorities tried to encourage migration to Mindoro, their attempts failed. The province’s population did not begin to increase until the late 19th century.

After the short-lived victory of the Philippine Revolution, followed almost immediately by the defeat of the Philippines in the Philippine-American War, Mindoro came under American administration along with the rest of the country. The Americans made it a subprovince of Marinduque in June 1902, but reorganized Mindoro into a separate province five months later. During the early 20th century, there was a massive influx of new settlers to the previously underpopulated island.

In February 1942, Mindoro was invaded and occupied by the Japanese. In December 1944, American troops landed on the island to retake it from the Japanese. In the decades after the war, the central and provincial governments led reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts on Mindoro, and the island continued to attract settlers from overpopulated provinces.

On November 15, 1950, the province of Mindoro was divided into two new provinces: Oriental Mindoro and Occidental Mindoro. The former provincial capital of Mindoro, Calapan, became the capital of Oriental Mindoro.

Oriental Mindoro is a mostly rural province. Only about 30% of the province’s population live in urban centers, while the rest are engaged in agriculture and fishing. Oriental Mindoro is a major producer of rice, coconuts, corn, fruits and vegetables. It is also an emerging ecotourism destination known for its sandy beaches, spectacular waterfalls and dive sites with impressive marine biodiversity.