Charter Day Supplement (June 15, 2017)

MINDANAO DAILY T H E P U RV E YO R O F T R U T H , J U S T I C E , A N D D E V E LO P M E N T

Volume VII, No. 023

Website: www.mindanaodailynews.com

Thursday

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June 15, 2017

Birthing a City

Cagayan de Oro marks 67 Charter Day Anniversary

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orthern Mindanao’s premier city and gateway marks its 67th anniversary as a city today, June 15, 2017 with a full schedule of events set within the 3rd Himugso Festival.

The all-day festivities kick off at 6:30AM at Kiosko Kagawasan in historic Plaza Divisoria with flag raising and program highlighted by the unveiling of the portraits of the proponents of the City Charter: Rep. Pedro Sa. Baculio, Rep. Emmanuel Pelaez and Hon. Maximo Y. Suniel. The immediate relatives and kin of the three personalities have been invited to grace the occasion.

Rep. Pedro Sa. Baculio, congressional representative for Misamis Oriental from 1946-1948, (at this time included Camiguin and C agayan de Oro) authored and filed the cityhood bill for Cagayan de Oro during the 1st Congress in 1948, along with the bills creating the Municipalities of Jasaan, Manticao and El Salvador.

However, he lost in the subsequent election to Rep. Emmanuel Pelaez

who reintroduced House Bill No. 54 “An Act Creating the City of Cagayan de Oro”during the 2nd Congress and Pres. Elpidio Quirino signed the city charter at 11:30AM of June 15, 1950.

The first appointed (as municipal mayor while Cagayan was still a municipality) and subsequently elected mayor of the new Cagayan de Oro City was Maximo Y. Suniel who served from 1948-1953. He was succeeded by Pedro Sa. Baculio (1953-1954) and Justiniano R. Borja who served from 1954-1964.

After the unveiling of the portraits car ved in wood by Kagay-anon artist Nicolas Aca, the mayor would also be presenting a plaque of recognition to Tirso S. Limbonhai, chairman emeritus of the Cagayan de Oro FilipinoChinese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Inc. The City Mayor’s An-

Signing of the City Charter on June 15, 1950 by Pres. Elpidio Quirino.

nual Report follows.

Following the Mayor’s report, the GAMA tour guides will conduct free walking tours for interested parties of historic Plaza Divisoria and the Gaston Park area. Interested parties can register at the City Tourism Showhouse at Plaza Divisoria. Free windshield tours of the city government’s key projects

will also be conducted for interested parties from the same venue.

The day’s festivities will also be marked by the launch of the Sinuglaw Festival which is the official kick-off for the Cagayan de Oro Hotel and Restaurant Association (COHARA) for its Kumbira Culinary Festival set for the fiesta See charter, page B3

Emmanuel Pelaez

Pedro SA. Baculio

A Centenary of Cagayan de Oro’s Historical Heritage

By Antonio J. Montalvan II

On Januar y 10, 1899, the public officials and citizens of Cagayan de Oro Misamis (present day Cagayan de Oro) declared the Philippines an independent country and republic.

For two days they celebrated the event with a parade, music, speeches, and the boom of can-

nonades. The p arade stopped in front of the historic Casa Real (the official residence of the Governor) and Pedro Akut rendered an emotive recitation of Toribio Chaves’ “Pinahanongod” (Dedication).

It is said that Akut’s rendition touched the hearts of his listeners.

By that time of January 10, 1899, Cagayan de Misamis was no longer Kining nueve ug dies sa Enero, Hiniktan, tiil, kamot ug hunahuna, ruled by Spanish offiNing malipayong katuigan.

Wa kitay pamu-ot nga kaugalingon, cials. Earlier, in the later Mga katarungan ta dili paga tagdon, part of 1898, the Spanish Mil ochocientos noventa y nueve, Sa mga mapintas nga mga Katsila.

Army and civil officials Ang pangilin sa malipayong pagsaulog, assigned to the town Gitabu nga wa pa sugod moagi, Oh! Cagayan de Misamis! heard of their defeat in Pagyokbo sa hinalangpong Nasud...

Itagsip sa inyong panumduman, Luzon by the revolutionary forces. Fearing for After the “Dedication”, revolutionary song in that The second one, however, their safety, they fled the the crowd sang two hymns. era of the Katipunan – “Rev- was composed purposely town. This explains why See centenary, page B2 The first was a common olucionarios Viva Filipinas.” for that event.

For truly the words of that poem evoke strong

patriotic sensibilities, even when read today. Some

excerpts from its original text:

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Thursday, June 15, 2017

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History & Legend of the Birhen sa Kota of Cagayan de Oro

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he Orden de Agustinos Recoletos priests introduced the Virgin of the Holy Rosary (Birhen sa Santo Rosaryo) to the early Kagay-anons when the city was but a settlement where now stands Gaston Park.

In 1622, Christianity was first introduced in the first Kagay-anon settlement in Himolugan, located in a promontory along the Cagayan River (present day Taguanao) next to where now stands the Pelaez bridge.

Through the initiative of Fray Agustin de San Pedro, this early mission was moved to the site of

the present St. Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral.

In 1626, a wooden palisade or kota was erected on the eastern side beneath the church and the convent as a protection against the constant depredations of raiders from distant Sultanates who used to raid the village of Cagaiang. * The people used to shelter here whenever the village was under attack. The statue of the Virgin of the Holy Rosary was always with them to whom they prayed to protect the people during times of danger.

The legend relates how the villagers were thrown into an uproar one day

as boat loads of raiders were espied coming in from downriver. However, just as quickly, the people saw the boats turn around and beat a hasty retreat.

L ater, the villagers learned from one of the attackers that they saw a vision of a woman atop the kota calling on the raiders to cease their attack. The face of the apparition was stern and commanded respect. This happened while the people where in hiding praying for intercession.

Thus, the statue came to be known as “Ang Birhen sa Kota” (Our Lady of the Walls). ** During the time of the

American occupation, the image was brought inside the Cathedral and was venerated every Saturday, a practice which came to be known as “Sabadohan”.

The St. Agustin Cathedral has been destroyed four times, including the Second World War when it was bombarded by the Americans. However, the image of the Birhen sa Kota, the icon of St. Agustin and the Mission Cross dating back to the first village remained unscathed.

Besides these incidents, many miracles have been attributed to the Birhen sa Kota.

At the end of the Second

Birhen sa Kota painting by Nonoy Estarte. Since there is still no documented evidence the miracle occurred during the early days of the kota when its walls consisted of wooden palisades, or later when it was made of stone, this painting can be considered the artist’s conception of the miracle as retold in legend.

Centenary... from page B1

Cagayan de Misamis there was no contagion of the Katipunan revolution from Luzon, because the Spaniards fled without putting up resistance.

One such fleeing Spaniard was Emilio Gaudier, who was the juez of Cagayan. Gaudier was infamous for his oppression of the natives, calling them “monkeys, savages, wild animals, ignoramuses.” Another jittery escapee was the fraile Angel Contreras de Belaza, who was vicar of San Agustin. He brought along with him precious artifacts: the jewels of the Virgin of the Fortress, the robe of St. Nicolas ornamented with gold, the candelabrum of silver and gold, and a holy grail made of gold, all precious ornaments from the church of St. Agustin. The

plunder was intercepted at the Macabalan wharf by the Filipino gobernadorcillo Cayetano Pacana and was promptly brought back to its rightful place in the church. Certainly enough loot and drama to create an “Indiana Jones” movie plot. Before all these celebrated escapes by the Spanish despots, Cagayan de Misamis already had a set of town officials. The two foremost historical sources of its account, “The Bautista Manuscripts” by the late Cagay-anon Filomeno Bautista, Sr. and “Cagayan de Oro, 16221901” by Prof. Mardonio M. Lao, differ on how Cagayan came to have its own native officials.

Bautista relates that even before the Spaniards left, the local citizens organized a new government “based on the laws and regulations of the Revolutionary

Government of Malolos.”

Bautista relates further that the provincial officials were “elected and so were the officials of the various municipalities of the province.” On the other hand, Lao’s accounts differs, thus: “...the Spanish officials finally left Cagayan in late December, 1898. To ensure the continuity of the local administration, the Spanish governor of Misamis, Lieutenant-Colonel Cristobal Aguilar, organized a committee of five members prior to the evacuation oft he Spaniards from the province. Upon his departure, Aguilar turned over to the five-man committee the administration of the town of Cagayan and the military district of Misamis.” However, such historical enigma is dashed when Lao further states that the new government was “organized in accor-

dance with the framework of the local government decreed by Aguinaldo’s government.” With the final convergence of the two historical accounts, we can rightly assert that this new government was the first organized Filipino local government of Cagayan circa the post-Hispanic era.

At any rate, these pioneer officials were: Jose Roa y Casas - Provincial President Manuel Corrales y Roa - Councilor for Peace and Internal Order Pio Roa y Alcala - Councilor for Justice and Civil Registry Ramon Neri y Abejuela - Councilor for Taxes and Property Toribio Chaves y Roa - Town Chief Therein lies the significance of the celebration of

World War, Archbishop Santiago Hayes, SJ, DD, had the image of the Birhen sa Kota brought to the San Jose de Mindanao Seminary in Barangay Camaman-an.

Kagay-anons believed that the statue was miraculous because sick people have been cured whenever they pray to the statue for healing.

In August of 1967, the image was brought to the Museo de Oro of Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan, for restoration. In 2008, Archbishop Antonio Ledesma, SJ, DD and the Museo de Oro agreed to return the image to a secure place in the St. Agustin Metropolitan Cathedral.

In October 7, 2013, the Feast Day of the Birhen sa Kota of Cagayan de Oro was restored, along with the Sabadohan Debosyon

(Saturday Devotion) on October 19, 2013. * Note *

* Since there are no documented accounts of the miracle, it has remained a legend hence the question remains regarding the reasons behind their constant attacks on the village. Local historian Dr. Antonio J. Montalvan II writes. “Remember the raiders were also defending the honor of what to them was a nation that already had an established royal government, however feudal it may have been. It was already trading with European nations and in fact, foreign trading houses had existed in Cotabato at that time. I strongly believe that based on circumstances, the raiders came from the See history, page B3

The miraculous icon of Ang Birhen sa Kota

January 10, 1899. It was, as we have already said, the first organized system of local governance by Filipinos in Cagayan de Misamis.

Its commemoration next year, in 1999, is therefore to some extent, a commemoration of Cagayan de Oro’s 100 years. Hence, it is also Cagayan de Oro’s centennial.

But more than that, it was a declaration of independence that was probably unparalleled in this part of the Philippines. It was, for all intents and purposes, the first declaration of independence in Mindanao.

For some time now I have heard not a few people say that Cagayan de Oro was such an antiseptic place for it had no historical heritage and tradition to speak of. The events of January 10, 1899 speak highly and eloquently for itself. Moreover, January

10, 1899 did not write finis to history. The date was only the start of an unfolding drama of revolutionary exploits peopled by local patriots and nationalists.

Nearby, the American invasion forces were just waiting for the kill. In the meantime, arms and ammunition, warriors and amazons, were preparing to meet their fate in the stage of history. Soon after, blood would flow in the streets and hills of Cagayan de Misamis. All these would reach their pathos in the year 1900, the centennial of which is soon approaching in the millennial year to come.

But the threshold remains January 10, 1899. (written on the occasion of the centennial celebration of the Philippines Independence in 1998. Reprinted with the permission of the author)

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Charter... from page B1

month of August and the city’s Higalaay Festival.

All member restaurants would be featuring this unique Kagay-anon dish in their menu during this time as part of the runup to Kumbira, the largest culinary event in the Philippines outside Metro Manila.

The 67th Cagayan de Oro City Charter Day is the second highlight of this year’s 3rd Himugso Festival, following the Philippine Independence Day celebration last June 12.

The festival kicked off last May 29 with National Flag Day and the Launching of the Resource Materials on

from page B2

Sultanate of Buayan, the upriver sultanate, because they were also trying to upstage the downriver sultanate of Maguindanao. The shift of loyalty of the Cagayan petty principality was a drain on the source of forest products which the upriver sultanate provided to the traders.

Hence, the raids for them were an act of reiterating their sovereign power.” ** Whether the miracle occurred during the early days of the settlement when the kota walls were made of wooden palisades or later when they were made of stone remains a bone of contention.

Montalvan says there is an extant map of the kota from the book of the Fernando Valdez Tamon found in the City Museum which shows it was a complicated stone

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the History of Cagayan de Oro at the XU Little Theatre last May 13 and the Himugso 2017 Cinemagis Film Festival featuring award-winning films by Kagay-anon film makers.

Himugso continues with nightly Serenatas at the Activity Center of Centrio Mall (June 16, Friday, 4PM8PM) and at the Event Center, 2nd floor, Limketkai Mall on June 17, Saturday.

The 3rd Himugso Festival winds up on June 19 with the Centennial Celebration of the Jose Rizal monument at Plaza Divisoria which is also the 154th birth anniversary of our National Hero. Festivities for this event will be headed by the Knights of Cagayan Municipal Board in Session with Mayor Maximo Y. Suniel (center, in rostrum) presiding photo courtesy of joey pimentel nacalaban Rizal and the Freemasons.

Former House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte Jr. with Tirso S. Limbonhai. photo courtesy notkattywatty

History...

Thursday, June 15, 2017

structure with ramparts and inner walls. There is a plan to reconstruct a stone replica of a kota wall in a local museum.

Note: The Sultanate of Buayan, the upper valley (sa raya) kingdom, relied on its rich agricultural lands and had the support of a great number of non-Muslim Malay tribes. The ruler of Buayan chose to stick to the old title of Rajah (a Hindu word for King) to emphasize the fact that the House of Buayan dates back to the Sri Vijaya and Majapahit empires that encompassed most of Southeast Asia. Buayan’s power was eclipsed by Maguindanao during the time of Datu Buisan, Qudarat’s father. Buayan almost regained its old glory when it practically wiped out the remaining Spanish forces in the late 1890s. (Abbas, 2007)

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Thursday, June 15, 2017

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