San Jose, Occidental Mindoro

San Jose, Occidental Mindoro. Known tourism facilities are beach resorts, hotels and restaurants.

The major attractions of the industrial town of San Jose are its three offshore islands - Ambulong, Ilin, and White Island. San Jose is also a favorite jump-off point to the world-class diving site - Apo Reef Marine Park.

Ambulong Island
Ambulong Island is a 30 km² island with fine beaches, cliffs and abundant coral formations. It is characterized by white sand beaches, cliffs along pillars jutting out of the water, and underwater caves. Coral gardens and tropical fish are abundant in several coves. The coral gardens and the white sand beaches are fantastic. A fisherman's village is located at the sheltered side of the island. Ambulong Island is also a jump-off point to some of the dive spots in the area, such as the Iling Point, Baniaga Reef, Ambulong Bank, Dungan Reef, Sardines Reef, Apo Reef, and Manadi Island. These dive sites are about an hour away by pumpboat from the Caminawit Port.
Ilin Island
Ilin Island has a village of shell divers, being abundant in shells and coral reefs. Mina de Oro Beach Resort (Barangay Inasakan, Ilin Island; an hour by boat from surrounding islands). This resort serves as a jump-off point to other attractions of the island of Ilin. There are ancient burial caves of early Chinese traders, ethnic fishing villages, and numerous dive sites from which to view many tropical fishes. Lush foliage encircle the clear blue waters of the South China Sea. There are scuba diving facilities, a 6.8 CTM compressor, seaport facilities, diveboats, and PADI and NAUI-certified instructors.
White Island (Manadi, Barrio Ilin, San Jose; 15 minutes by pumpboat from Caminawit Port)
White Island has a long powdery beach where buried turtle eggs are occasionally found. It has an almost mile-long beach with smooth and powdery white sand. The tranquil and peaceful island is an ideal place for swimming, scuba diving and fishing. Turtle eggs are occasionally found buried in the sand, and visitors are cautioned to keep them undisturbed.
Apo Reef
Apo Reef is located in the territorial waters of the municipality of Sablayan, but San Jose is one of the points of entry of those who wish to get there. The Apo Reef Marine Park includes the fascinating bird-populated islands of Binangaan and Cajos del Bajo, which are surrounded by waters with over 500 species of marine life and luxuriant coral growth represented by approximately 400 to 500 kaleidoscopic coral species.
Mt. Iglit National Park
It is located in an area shared by the municipalities of Sablayan and Calintaan, but San Jose is also the main gateway there. It is a sanctuary for the 'tamaraw (Anoa Mindorensis), an endemic specie of buffalo found only in Mindoro. It provides a nice eco-tourism, trekking, or mountaineering alternative to beach/dive resorts.

Sarangani

Sarangani is a province of the Philippines located in the SOCCSKSARGEN region in Mindanao. Its capital is Alabel and borders South Cotabato to the north and Davao del Sur to the east.

To the south lies the Celebes Sea, while it sandwiches at the center the highly urbanized city of General Santos.

The province is divided into two parts, separated by the Sarangani Bay and General Santos City, and it used to be part of South Cotabato until it was made an independent province in 1992.

According to the last general elections, it has a total voting population of 222,912 voters.

Sarangani celebrates its 16th foundation anniversary with its theme "Ang Galing Mo, Sarangan," with the November 27 to 29, 2008 6th "MunaTo Festival."

Its landmark "Isla Parilla" resort is now an "AA" world-class resort, built within a man-made island.

Sarangani also has, as treasure, its ancient burial jars, discovered by archaeologists from the National Museum in Ayub Cave, Maitum, in 1991 and in 2008, at Sagel Cave, Maitum (now declared by National Historical Institute as a national historical sites). Amid Mindanao's armed conflicts, artifacts found thereat prove settlements of pre-historic civilization in Maitum.

Philippine Independence Day

The Philippine Declaration of Independence occurred on June 12, 1898 in the Philippines, where Filipino revolutionary forces under General Emilio Aguinaldo (later to become the Philippines' first Republican President) proclaimed the sovereignty and independence of the Philippine Islands from the colonial rule of Spain after the latter was defeated at the Battle of Manila Bay during the Spanish-American War.

Philippine Independence Day (Filipino:Araw ng Kasarinlan, Araw ng Kalayaan) commemorating the country's declaration of independence from Spain on June 12, 1898 is a regular holiday in the Philippines.

The United States recognized Philippine independence on July 4, 1946 in the Treaty of Manila. Independence Day was observed in the Philippines on the July 4 anniversaray of this event until, upon the advice of historians and at the urging of nationalist politicians, President Diosdado Macapagal signed Republic Act No. 4166 into law on August 4, 1964, designating June 12, which had previously been observed as Flag Day, as the country's Independence Day.

The declaration, however, was not recognized by the United States or Spain, as the Spanish government ceded the Philippines to the United States in the 1898 Treaty of Paris, in consideration for an indemnity for Spanish expenses and assets lost.