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Occidental Mindoro is the western part of Mindoro. Found in the south of the Province of Batangas and northwest of the Visayas. The province is bounded on the north by the Verde Island Passage, on the west and south by the Mindoro Strait and on the east by its sister province, Oriental Mindoro.
Even before the Spaniards came the Chinese traders knew about the town, which is known before as “Mait”. During the exploration of the Spaniards in 1570 they changed the name from Mait to “Mina de Oro” meaning mine of gold and afterwards found some of the precious metal, though no major gold discoveries ever made
Agriculture is basically the major industry in Occidental Mindoro and holds the record of being the Southern Tagalog Region's leading rice producer. Other major agricultural products that are likewise exported from the province include coconut, corn, tobacco, garlic, mango, banana and peanut. The residents are also engaged in cattle and poultry raising, logging and fishing. The famous "Mindoro Bangus" is produced in many fresh-water ponds, while its offshore water teem with tuna, grouper and octopus. There are also light industries like processing fruits, fish, prawns and nuts, feed milling, gemstone and marble finishing, handicrafts, toys and gifts, which make use of the province’s profuse and accessible resources.
The province is gifted with varied attractions that are mostly natural. The place has virgin forests, beautiful white sand beaches, islands and islets rich with marine life, coral gardens, caves and waterfalls. Besides Boracay, it is one of the best places to scuba dive. Many scuba divers cannot resist the underwater beauty of Occidental Mindoro.
There are not much of historical sites, but the province offers a lot of tourist attractions like the Apo National Reef Park in Sablayan, which is acclaimed to be the best in Asia and the diving mecca of the Philippines. Cabra Island in Lubang is a favorite spot for fishing.
Local airlines flies from Manila to San Jose on a regular schedule. Travel time is 40 minutes. By sea transfer, William Lines leave the port of Manila for San Jose or Sablayan. Travel time is 16 hours.
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