Pinamalayan, one of the most popular municipalities in Oriental Mindoro. No wonder why many people visit this wonderful place. It has many places that tourists are looking for, from mountains to oceans, from woods to city lights. You can all see that only here at Pinamalayan. According to the data provided by DTI, among the 1st and 2nd class municipalities in the Philippines, Pinamalayan ranks number 1 in the most improved municipality in the year 2020. That is an incredible result despite other municipalities here are more developed and more famous, as the municipality of Puerto Galera is the most known place here in Oriental Mindoro for its Tamaraw Falls and White Beach, and the city of Calapan which has the biggest population and most urbanized.

Photo by Vincent James Bareja

         As a citizen of Pinamalayan, I can see how fast this place has improved and developed. As far as I can remember, during 2018, the tourism here was not that much of a thing, the beaches here are not so developed and they looked like just an ordinary seashore. But now they have luxurious huts, kayaks, and even boat tours. The increasing growth rate of tourism has made this huge improvement. It is evident in the number of businesses opened and amount of tourists visiting here annually. Other things that have improved here are the urban destinations like restaurants and food stops. In the past, this town is just a regular town with eateries, street foods, and a marketplace. But now, food stops are starting to appear and they quickly become popular among the people. The first one started along the nautical highway during the Christmas season of 2020 and now there are almost three more of them in town. Pinamalayan is truly a wonderful place to visit.

Photo by wennie Bagsit Briones

         When you are about to enter the municipality of Pinamalayan, you’ll see first the beautiful arc with the message “Pinamalayan Paraiso ng Bahaghari” which means “Pinamalayan The Paradise of Rainbows.” This tagline came from the history of Pinamalayan. There’s a story from long ago when the first settlers of Pinamalayan got lost in the sea because of bad weather and after the storm, the only thing that they see was a rainbow. It guided them to safety and they followed it until they discovered this place with abundant resources for living. That’s why this town has a tagline “Paraiso ng Bahaghari.” So past the short history, when you got to the town proper. You will see a giant pot with a rainbow in it. That means abundance and hope in this town. You can climb and take a picture of this iconic landmark with an instagrammable background.