Cagayan de Oro’s Heritage Zones

A Struggle in Valuing the Past to Grasp a Sustainable Future

By Ar. Aimeelou Jean Demetrio

The city of golden friendship or Cagayan de Oro is the gateway to Mindanao since it is the regional center and a business hub of Region 10: Northern Mindanao. Formerly named Cagayan de Misamis, it was known for its golden mines during the Spanish Colonial Period, hence the moniker Cagayan de Oro or River of Gold. As a port city, it has a rich immigrant history reflected in Kagay-anon culture, especially in diverse cuisine and fiestas. It is a hub of multinational companies, car industries, and retail which attract investors and businesspeople nationally and internationally. The city has an equal balance of high urbanization and rural life, where people can pursue business and career opportunities while living the idyllic life of the province. However, the city’s rapid growth of urbanization hides a problem in protecting its heritage zones. Despite having active heritage advocates and professionals, the city‘s urban heritage preservation is struggling.

Tragedy of Huluga

As early as the late Neolithic Period, Cagayan de Oro showed signs of ancient habitation as evidenced by the Huluga Open Site and Caves in Sitio Taguanao, Barangay Indahag, just eight (8) kilometers away from the present-day urban core. In 1970, field researchers from the National Museum discovered significant finds in the area. They found skeletal remains, tools, and accessories that implied trade with neighboring countries (Figure 1). The present-day downtown Cagayan de Oro was not inhabited until the arrival of the Spaniards in 1622. The Augustinian Recollect Missionaries were the first to arrive at Himologan. The inhabitants of Himologan were animists that paid tributes to Sultan Kudarat. Four (4) years later, Datu Salangsang of Himologan was convinced by the Augustinian friars, to relocate their settlement to another area. The new settlement became Fuerza Real de San Jose which is now known as a heritage zone where the Gaston Park, City Museum, Archbishop's Palace, and Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral stand.

In 2003, to give way to the Taguanao-Balulang Road-and-Bridge project of the city government, the destruction of a large portion of the Huluga Open site transpired (Figure 2). The site is protected by R.A. 4846 (Cultural Properties Preservation and Protection Act) as amended by P.D. 347 and declared an archaeological site in 1992, but still was destroyed by the city government. Recommendations and protests by heritage practitioners and groups fell on deaf ears. Because of this, tensions between the city government and the heritage groups ensued for many years. Around 60% to 80% of the archaeological site was damaged and defaced due to quarrying. The Environmental Management Bureau (EMB) ordered the city hall to pay for damages, but they never complied. Because of this, all heritage zones of Cagayan de Oro are at risk in the name of urbanization. Only a few of the city’s Heritage Zones, including structures, buildings, and landmarks, were declared and protected by the NHCP. Until now, there are no city ordinances to protect them.

Valuing the Past

In recent years, there has been a change of outlook on the city’s urban heritage preservation. Earlier this year, an online interview regarding the city government’s plans on heritage zones with the City Museum’s officer-in-charge, Mr. Jesus Christopher Salon, a former protégé of the late Dr. Erlinda Burton, a distinguished anthropologist and former curator of Museo de Oro who protested against the destruction of the Huluga Open Site.

There have been improvements in architectural conservation efforts starting with the adaptive reuse of the Cagayan de Oro Waterworks tank into the official city museum.

The city museum is collecting documents to submit to the NHCP to protect the city’s heritage zones. These heritage zones include historical buildings, structures, and archaeological sites such as:

• The Executive Building (Pre-world war 2);

• Plaza Divisoria (1910);

• Archbishop Palace (1934-35);

• Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan Campus (1950s);

• MOGCHS Building (1909);

• Lourdes College Main Building (American Colonial Period); and

• Several prominent Ancestral Houses and public buildings from the Pre-war and Post War periods.

There are still some persistent issues that arise due to new developments in the city. An example of this is the precarious fate of the city’s first University, Xavier University - Ateneo de Cagayan. Its historical buildings have an unclear future with the emergence of the Vatican-approved “Campus of the Future”. Despite this, Mr. Salon is hopeful for the future of Cagayan de Oro’s Heritage Zones as the city museum aims to apply its theme of “Valuing the Past to Grasp a Sustainable Future” next year.

Grasping a Sustainable Future

In recent times, heritage property’s significance and value have been a casualty of the inevitable urban development. There must be no separation between urbanization and heritage conservation to achieve sustainable development. The tragedy of Huluga is a lesson on the effects of indifference to the city’s past and identity. The indifference resulted in the disregard of laws that protect these heritage zones, lack of dialogue with stakeholders, and the absence of proper conservation management plans and environmental impact assessments. There should be a more stringent implementation of R.A.10066 and a consultation of experts before pushing through any urban development within the city’s heritage zones.

to achieve a more sustainable and eco-efficient solution in heritage conservation and urban planning, and to spread awareness of its importance.

By Ar. Anthony Demin Sarmiento