City of Ozamiz Dakbayan sa Ozamiz Lungsod ng Ozamiz
—  City  —
Seal
Nickname(s): Pilgrimage Destination
Motto: Better Image, Better Lives
Map of Misamis Occidental showing the location of Ozamiz City
Country	Philippines
Island	Mindanao
Region
Class	3rd Class City
Province	Misamis Occidental
Barrios or Barangays	51
Town Established	1757
City Established	July 16, 1948[1]
Government
• Type	City Legislative Council
• Mayor	Nova Princess P. Echavez (Lakas Kampi CMD)
• Vice Mayor	Roland Romero (Liberal Party)
Population (2010)
• Total	131,527
• Demonym	Ozamiznon
• Language(s)	Cebuano, Filipino, English, Ilonggo, Ilocano, Maguindanao
Time zone	PST (UTC+8)
ZIP Code[2]	7200
Area code(s)	+88
Website	http://www.ozamiz.gov.ph/

The City of Ozamiz is a 3rd class city^[3] in the province of Misamis Occidental, Philippines. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 131,527.

History[link]

Philippine Independent Church, Cathedral of St. Mary in Ozamis City.

The city of Ozamiz grew out of an old Spanish town called Misamis—a name believed to have been derived from the Subanen word "Kuyamis," a variety of coconut. Other unverified historical sources, however, suggest that the name Misamis came from "Misa" after the Catholic Mass. The origin and the growth of the old Spanish town, Misamis, was due to the presence of the Spanish garrison stationed at the stone fort named Nuestra Senora dela Concepcion del Triunfo which was constructed sometimes the 18th century in order to control the piratical activities originating in the nearby Lanao area. In 1850, the town of Misamis became the capital of the District of Misamis.

After the Second World War, Misamis became a chartered city by virtue of Republic Act 321 on July 16, 1948. RA 321 also renamed Misamis to Ozamiz after a WW-II hero José Ozámiz who hailed from the province of Misamis Occidental and who at one time also served as its governor and congressional representative of the Lone District of Misamis Occidental, a delegate to the 1935 Constitutional Convention that resulted in the creation of the 1935 Constitution for the Philippine Commonwealth Government. In 1941, José F. Ozámiz was elected to the Philippine Senate. Through City Resolution 251-05, Ozamiz is officially spelled with a "Z" in its last letter rather than with an "S".

Geography[link]

Ozamiz city is sandwiched by both Zamboanga del Sur and Zamboanga del Norte provinces. It is 45mins drive from Oroquieta City, 30 mins drive from Tangub City, 20 mins drive from Tudela, less than 2 hrs drive from Pagadian City, 3 hrs drive from Dipolog City, Dapitan city and 4 hrs drive to Cagayan de Oro City. Lanao del Norte is only a 20 mins ferry ride across Panguil bay. Ozamiz city is 52 km away from Maria Cristina Falls, the main source of hydroelectric power in Mindanao.

Barangays[link]

Ozamiz City is politically subdivided into 51 barangays.

Economy[link]

Ozamiz City is agricultural by resources, but it has become the center for Commerce, Health, Transportation and Education in this part of Mindanao, considering its strategic location and its peaceful atmosphere. The city has good harbor location, its local port is the principal outlet of mineral deposits, agricultural and forest products of the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, parts of Lanao del Norte and Misamis Occidental.

Tourism and Culture[link]

Notable Events and Festivals[link]

The feast of Our Lady of Triumph at Cotta Shrine is celebrated every July 16 which is also the Charter City anniversary. Subayan Keg Subanon festival is also held on the same day. The Cotta entertainment area has free live band concerts and other musical variety shows each weekend. Fireworks displays are held at Cotta during Fiesta and holidays. It can be seen across Panguil bay as far as Lanao del Norte.

The feast of Immaculate Conception is celebrated every December 8 while every 4th Sunday of January is the Sr. Sto. Nino Fluvial Parade held at Panguil Bay. Balanghoy Festival is held annually at Cotta area.

Attractions[link]

• Cotta Fort and Cotta Shrine – a fort built in 1755 by Father Jose Ducos to serve as a Spanish outpost in the area. A special chapel was built inside the walls of the fort and an image of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception, in the pink and blue attire, was enshrined in the chapel and outside the fort on the wall facing the bay, was a carved image of the Virgin Mary. The image on the Cotta's wall is believed to be miraculously growing and has been the object of pilgrimage. The fort was renovated and restored to its original design in 2006.

• Bukagan Hill – has a view of the city, Panguil bay, the provinces of Lanao del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur. There are four great bells at the top of Bukagan Hill. The bells were named after “St. Peter”, “St. Marien”, “St. Joseph” and “St. Michael” and were originally purchased by Bishop Patrick Cronin, D.D. for the Immaculate Conception Cathedral. However, the bells weigh 7 tons and were found to be too heavy and too large for the cathedral's belfry. The people felt that it was very expensive to construct a special belfry for them considering that a lot of fund raising effort was made for the building of the cathedral and the installing of the pipe organ. It was through the efforts of then City Mayor Fernando T. Bernad that the bells were finally given a place at the Bukagan Hill. With the help of Jesus Y. Varela, the huge bells were installed in Bukagan Hill Bells and officially inaugurated on July 16, 1948.^[4]

• Naomi's Botanical Garden and tourists Inn – sits on a 12 hectare property of local and imported tropical flowers, plants and fruit seedlings. There are fully air-conditioned private rooms, Function halls, tennis court, Golf range, ceramics factory, pottery and a bakery inside this sprawling garden.

• Mt. Malindang Golf and country Club – this is a pre-war army facility converted into a golf course located in Bagakay at the foot of Mount Malindang.

• Immaculate Conception Pipe organ – found in the choir loft of the Immaculate Conception Cathedral, is the only existing pipe organ in Mindanao and one among the few throughout the country. An Irish Columban priest, Father Sean Lavery, who was in charge of the liturgical and musical development in the Immaculate Conception Cathedral realized the need for an organ. Funds were raised through donations and a musical extravaganza organized by the parish raised enough money to buy the pipe organ. Father Lavery asked the help of a German priest, Father Herman Schablitzki S.V.D., who came to Ozamiz City to get the specification needed to guide the organ builders in Germany. Father Schablitzki himself, assisted by one carpenter and one electrician, assembled the organ in six weeks and it was completed on May 31, 1967. It was inaugurated on July 16, 1967; the feast day of Our Lady of Mount Carmel.^[5]

Transportation[link]

Air[link]

Ozamiz Airport, Ozamiz City, Philippines

Cebu Pacific Air started Cebu-Ozamiz and v.v. flights on November 10, 2008 using ATR 72-500, a 72-seater plane. On October 7, 2011, Cebu Pacific Air will start using their Airbus A319 for the Cebu-Ozamiz and v.v. route. Cebu Pacific Air's direct Manila-Ozamiz v.v. service started June 16, 2009 and offered daily services to Manila using Airbus A319. Philippine Airlines (PAL) also started their daily flights between Manila and Ozamiz on June 16, 2009 also utilizing the state of the art Airbus 319-100 aircraft. Air Philippines which was the first airline to serve direct Ozamiz-Manila v.v. flights when the airport re-opened in July 2007 yielded its operations to PAL due to the increasing volume of passengers and cargoes in the lucrative Ozamiz market. However, Airphil Express (formerly Air Philippines) will resume its Manila-Ozamiz v.v. flights starting August 18, 2011 utilizing their brand-new and bigger Airbus A320-200 aircraft. The influx of airline companies serving Ozamiz City and the general areas of Misamis Occidental, Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Norte and Zamboanga del Sur will surely benefit the riding public due to fierce airfare competition.

Sea[link]

There are several major shipping lines serving the Manila and Cebu routes namely: Superferry, Cebu Ferries, Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, Carlos A. Gothong Lines, Sulpicio Lines and Negros Navigation. Cokaliong Shipping Lines sail three times weekly Ozamiz to Cebu routes. Local shipping lines like Daima have trips from Ozamiz to Mukas, Kolambugan, Lanao del Norte routes through Roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferries that transport passengers, cars/trucks and goods across Panguil bay.

Land[link]

Rural Transit, Super Five Transport, & Lotradisco is the dominant public land transport to Iligan City, Cagayan de Oro City, & Kapatagan, Lanao del Norte ferrying across the Panguil Bay and to Pagadian City, Dipolog City, and Dapitan City. The public mode of transportation within the city is by trisikad/pedicab and motorized tricycle. Passenger Vans, Ordinary Jeepneys, & Multicab Jeepneys are also available for Oroquieta, Dipolog, Molave, Calamba, Jimenez, Bonifacio, Tangub, Don Victoriano, Tudela, Clarin, Plaridel, Lopez Jaena, Baliangao, Concepcion, Sinacaban, Panaon, & Sapang Dalaga routes.

Establishments[link]

Gaisano Capital Mall is the biggest mall in the city, followed by the Geege Mall which is located at Burgos St., it has a supermarket, department store, three cinemas, specialty stores, bingo plaza, food court, video game arcade. Ozamiz Shopper's Plaza houses a department store and a supermarket.

One-stop-shopping centers such as Gloria Bazar, Centrum Ozamiz, Quality Shopping center, Saver's Square, Goldsquare, Unitop, Ozamiz Shoppers Plaza, and a much bigger Novo Dept. store abound in the city. The City Public Mall is owned and managed by the City Government of Ozamiz. It opened on May 28, 2009. SM Savemore will soon open at the ground floor of Geege mall. Mitsubishi Motors and Service Center will soon open at Gango Highway.esquina located at aguada ozamiz city

Education[link]

The presence of two universities in Ozamiz, La Salle University (Ozamiz City), formerly known as Immaculate Conception College (ICC) and Misamis University, makes it a premier education center in northern Mindanao. Students coming from Lanao del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte and Misamis Occidental come to Ozamiz to pursue their college education. Notable schools include:

• Medina College-Ozamiz – Sister School of Medina College-Pagadian
• STI Ozamiz
• Northwestern Mindanao Institute of Technology (NMIT)
• Computer Technology College
• Ozamiz City Technology and Vocational School
• Misamis Institute of Technology
• Misamis Union High School formerly Misamis Chinese High School – sister school of Jinan University of China. This is the only Chinese School in Misamis Occidental.
• Vocational Institute of the Philippines and Maritime Training Center
• Our Lady of Triumph Institute of Technology
• La Salle University (Ozamiz City) formerly known as Immaculate Conception College (ICC)
• Misamis University
• Ozamiz City National High School also known as OCNHS

Hospitals and health facilities[link]

• Mayor Hilarion A. Ramiro Sr. Regional Training and Teaching Hospital (MHARS-RTTH)- a 200 bed capacity tertiary Hospital owned by the Dept. of Health.
• Misamis University Medical center (MUMC)- a tertiary hospital located at Brgy. Bagakay.
• Medina General Hospital- will soon become a 300 bed capacity Tertiary Hospital located at Brgy. Carmen Annex.
• Faith Hospital
• S.M. Lao Memorial Hospital
• St. Joseph General Hospital formerly St. Mary General Hospital

Banks and financial institutions[link]

• Allied Banking Corporation – located at Burgos St.
• China Banking Corporation – located at Burgos St.
• Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. – Rizal Branch
• Metropolitan Bank & Trust Co. – Burgos Branch
• Philippine National Bank – Located at Rizal Avenue, fronting Osrox Park.
• Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas / Central Bank of The Philippines – along Fernando T. Bernad Ave. (Circumferencial Road)
• Philippine Savings Bank – along Rizal Avenue
• Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation – along D.A.B.A.
• Development Bank of the Philippines – along Burgos St.
• Banco De Oro Ozamiz(Ozamiz Cash Hub)
• Bank of Philippine Islands
• Land Bank of the Philippines – located along D.A.B.A
• United Coconut Planters Bank – along Rizal avenue
• 1st Valley Bank – Don Anselmo Bernad Avenue Branch
• 1st Valley Bank – Rizal Avenue Branch
• Rural Bank of Ozamiz
• First Consolidated Bank – located along DABA
• Rural Bank of Tangub City – along Port Road
• Panguil Bay Rural Bank – along DABA
• One Network Bank Located at Ozamiz Public Mall
• PenBank – along DABA
• Katipunan Bank – located at 2nd floor City Public Mall
• Bank of Misamis. The merging of Rural Bank of Tudela, Mis. Occ. and Rural Bank of Kolambogan, Lanao del Norte.– Beside Misamis University
• Union Bank – located at Insular Life Bldg at DABA
• Paglaum Multi-purpose Cooperative
• Lorenzo Tan Multi-Purpose Cooperative
• First Integrated Community Cooperative
• Enterprise Bank – LKT Bldg., Don Anselmo Bernad Avenue near Dewberry
• EastWest Bank – at DABA

Media[link]

• Fil Products Cable TV Inc.
• Misamis Cable TV Network
• ABS-CBN (MIT-RTVN) Channel 7
• GMA TV Channel 5 – relay TV station
• MBNN TV Channel 13 will soon become KNC TV 13 starting August 1, 2009
• SUNSHINE TV Channel 27
• Radio One FM 97.5 MHz (DXLM-FM)
• Dan-ag sa Dakbayan Broadcasting Network – DXDD-AM 657, DXDD-FM 100.7 Cool Radio
• La Salle University-Ozamiz – LSU-FM 94.5 MHz
• Times Broadcasting Corporation – DXSY-AM 1242, Y96 (DXSY-FM 96.1 MHz)
• Smart Communications – located inside Gaisano City Mall
• Globe Telecom / Globelines – located inside Gaisano City Mall
• Sun Cellular – its express shop is located at Grace Hardware Bldg, Rizal avenue, Ozamiz city
• Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT)- its office is located at D.A.B.A.
• Bayantel – offers internet service only.

Sister cities[link]

• Butuan City, Philippines
• Makati City, Philippines
• Tagum City, Philippines

See also[link]

• Northern Mindanao
• Metro Cagayan de Oro
• Oroquieta City

Notes[link]

Ranking[link]

See also[link]

• List of renamed cities and municipalities in the Philippines

External links[link]

• Ozamiz City Government
• Philippine Standard Geographic Code
• Local Governance Performance Management System

v t e Cities of the Philippines Highly-urbanized Cities Angeles Bacolod Baguio Butuan Cagayan de Oro Caloocan Cebu Davao General Santos Iligan Iloilo Lapu-Lapu Las Piñas Lucena Makati Malabon Mandaluyong Mandaue Manila Marikina Muntinlupa Naga, Camarines Sur Navotas Olongapo Parañaque Pasay Pasig Puerto Princesa Quezon City San Juan Tacloban Taguig Valenzuela Zamboanga Independent Component Cities Cotabato Dagupan Ormoc Santiago Component Cities Alaminos Antipolo Bago Bais Balanga Batangas Batac Bayawan Baybay Bayugan Biñan Bislig Bogo Borongan Cabadbaran Cabanatuan Cadiz Calamba Calapan Calbayog Candon Canlaon Carcar Catbalogan Cauayan Cavite Danao Dapitan Dasmariñas Digos Dipolog Dumaguete El Salvador Escalante Gapan Gingoog Guihulngan Himamaylan Ilagan Iriga Isabela Kabankalan Kidapawan Koronadal La Carlota Lamitan Laoag Legazpi Lipa Maasin Malaybalay Malolos Marawi Masbate Mati Meycauayan Muñoz Naga, Cebu Oroquieta Ozamiz Pagadian Palayan Panabo Passi Roxas Sagay Samal San Carlos, Negros Occidental San Carlos, Pangasinan San Fernando, La Union San Fernando, Pampanga San Jose San Jose del Monte San Pablo Santa Rosa Silay Sipalay Sorsogon Surigao Tabuk Tacurong Tagaytay Tagbilaran Tagum Talisay, Cebu Talisay, Negros Occidental Tanauan Tandag Tangub Tanjay Tarlac Tayabas Toledo Trece Martires Tuguegarao Urdaneta Valencia Victorias Vigan

Coordinates: 8°09′N 123°51′E / 8.15°N 123.85°E / 8.15; 123.85