Welcome to Rodeo Country! Masbate is a province of the Philippines located southwest of Bicol mainland, west of Northern Samar, north of Cebu, east of Romblon, and south of Quezon Province. It is composed of the islands of Masbate, Ticao, and Burias. Terrain is hilly to mountainous with some flatlands in between. Climate is characterized by not very pronounced seasons, relatively dry from November to April and wet during the rest of the year.

Masbate Provincial Capitol

The province is the melting pot of many cultural groups: Bicolanos, Cebuanos, Waray-Warays, Ilonggos, Tagalogs, and Chinese. As a result, many dialects are spoken yet a unique dialect of its own has been developed - "Minasbate", a special blend of the above cultural influences.

Farming and fishing are the main economic activities. It is the country's foremost producer of commercially raised cattle although it has fewer over-all cattle inventory because other provinces have large backyard inventory. Agricultural production in 2007 are as follows (figure in thousand metric tons, rank among 79 provinces)

Animal inventory of Masbate in 2007 are as follows (figure in thousand, rank among 79 provinces)

Inspite of its vast agricultural lands and mineral as well as marine resources, Masbate has the highest poverty incidence among the Bicol provinces. In 2006, it stood at 59.5% of the population and is the 8th highest in the country. As of 2007, a total of 16 banks were operating in Masbate with deposits of 2.1 billion pesos.

Eco-tourism and the production of high value crops offers the greatest potential in the province. Meat processing is also a possibility due to the vast pasture lands.

1. Bugui Point Lighthouse located in Aroroy town
2. Busay de Gracia waterfall in Baleno
3. Jintotolo Island Lighthouse in balud
4. Ban-ao cave in Placer
5. Balay na Bato in Esperanza
6. Sombrero Island
7. Mandaon town has caves and unique rock formations resembling a crashed metiorite

Capitol photo credit to skyscrapercity.com

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