72. WALKING TOUR IN THE CITY OF GOLDEN FRIENDSHIP

WALKING TOUR IN THE CITY OF GOLDEN FRIENDSHIP

Dr. Troy Alexander G. Miano

03 October

2018

It has been 16 years since I last visited CDO. It was during my DENR days when I first reached the locality from Butuan City in Agusan del Norte together with my boss, the Secretary, and stayed at the Gardens of Malasag Eco-Tourism Village. This year, my Governor sent me to grace the 19^th National Convention of the Association of Tourism Officers of the Philippines (ATOP) from October 3 to 6. As part of the tourism immersions, I crafted my own walking tours to fit my time, health capacity and categories. The other delegate’s immersions were focused on nature and adventure which consumes a whole day per site. I also had an acquaintance with the chief executive of Misamis Oriental province, Governor Yevgeny Vincente “Bambi” Beja Emano, who is the host and an advocate of tourism promotions and development.

Cagayan de Oro or simply Cagayan as Mindanaoans refer to the place, is filled with monuments. I had my walking tour in this capital-city starting from Plaza Divisoria, also known as Golden Friendship Park. Located in a narrow strip of land in downtown CDO, it was constructed in 1901 by Tirso Neri y Roa, a rich merchant and a one-time municipal mayor of Cagayan de Misamis (now CDO). The plaza, which means “divide” in Spanish, served as a “divider” or “firebreak”, which was constructed as a result of a great fire that almost burned down the entire town.

From Corrales Avenue, facing Xavier University (Ateneo de Cagayan) is the Magsaysay Park where an imposing statue of President Ramon Magsaysay stands. It was recently restored through the efforts of the International Order of Job’s Daughters Bethel #19, Wadih C. Saab Chapter Order of Demolay and International Order of the Rainbow for Girls Anthurium Assembly #5. On one side are some of the names of outstanding Cagayanons who prominently served in war and peace. Many of the city’s streets are named after them.

Next is the Andres Bonifacio Monument at the Bonifacio Park facing Pabayo Street. It was erected as a tribute to the local revolutionaries who died during the Battle of Agusan Hill in the Philippine-American War on May 14, 1900. The bones of the revolutionaries are buried among the rocks that line below the statue with the inscription “El Pueblo A Sus Heroes” at the foot of the monument.

The Centennial Marker of Freemasonry is another prominent edifice in the park. The marker commemorates the 100 years of the establishment of the Freemasonry in Mindanao known as the Maguindanao Lodge 40 dated July 16, 1911. Notable names of Kagay-anons were in fact members of Freemasonry and they were actually the prime movers of the city.

A memorial of a well-loved local leader, Mayor (1954-1964) Justiniano R. Borja (1912-1964), stands magnificently in the aisle-park. Mayor Borja was one of those improbable figures in government, an honest and dedicated public servant. He was a man of integrity and purpose, but what endeared him most to Cagayanos was his philosophy of selfless service.

No town plaza in the country would be complete without a statue of our national hero. The Dr. Jose P. Rizal statue in CDO is the oldest monument in the city having been erected on June 19, 1917 and had already celebrated its centennial on the hero’s birthday last year. At the pedestal is the inscription: “RIZAL! Para perpetuar tu memoria, te dedicamos este recuerdo, humilde si, pero con ello van nuestros mas caros afectos brotados desde el fondo de nuestras almas y, a todo KAGAYAN que te venera, sirvale de guia para seguir tu ejemplo.”

Continuing my walk, I reached the Casa Real or the seat of government of the City of Cagayan de Oro. In front of the hall is an official National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) marker which was installed in 2014, immortalizing the first hoisting of the Philippine Flag in Cagayan de Misamis on January 10, 1899. Right across is the Gaston Park, named after pre-war Municipal Mayor, Segundo Gaston. The park was the main plaza of Cagayan de Misamis during the Spanish colonial period and it served as the training ground of local patriots during the Philippine-American War. It became the site of the Battle of Cagayan de Misamis on April 7, 1900. Another NHCP marker was placed in the park in the year 2000. Across the century-old park is the Maternity Hospital building which used to be the site of the Club Popular Pact Resistance where a historical marker is now installed. On the other side of Gaston Park is the Duaw Kagay-an Park which was recently relaunched with the special dedication of the replica of “Birhen sa Kota” and realized through the efforts of Kagay-anon International and other generous groups and individuals.

No one can miss the Saint Augustine Metropolitan Cathedral located at the heart of the city near the Cagayan de Oro River adjacent the City Hall and Gaston Park. The Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro was canonically founded in 1933 with the cathedral as the seat. It was believed that the first church structure built in present-day CDO was erected in 1624 by the Augustinian Recollects under the leadership of Fray Agustin de San Pedro. The church was frequently attacked and razed to the ground by soldiers from the Non-Christian areas of Mindanao in 1649, 1778 and 1831. In 1841, Fray Simon Loscos instigated the construction of a stone church and was finished in 1851. In 1942, during the Second World War, the church was bombed and was rebuilt in 1946.

I ended my walking tour at the Provincial Capitol Building grounds where I visited the government center and took pictures of past provincial governors including two illustrious sons; Vice President (1961-1965) Emmanuel Neri Pelaez (1915-2003) and Senate President (2000-2001) Aquilino Quilinging Pimentel, Jr. The historic Vicente I. de Lara Park, named after a past provincial governor who served from 1954 to 1961, is a site to see by striving historians like me. Formerly known as MacArthur Park honoring five-star General Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964) who landed in Cagayan de Oro after escaping from Corregidor enroute to Australia, one can see the Press Freedom Monument located at the corner of the grounds which was unveiled on August 21, 2009. The first project in Mindanao of Eduardo Delos Santos Castrillo (1942-1916; sculptor of People Power Monument in Quezon City), the monument has three figures, a fallen woman, who, according to Castrillo, represents the woman journalist Marlene Garcia-Esperat (1959-2005) of “The Midland Review” of Tacurong City in Sultan Kudarat province, who was slain in front of her children on March 24, 2005. She is carried by a broadcast media man with a microphone while standing behind them is a print journalist with a camera around his neck. Behind the main figures is a wall with 104 plates bearing the names of the slain members of media since 1986. At the center of the mahogany-dotted park is the Misamis Oriental Heritage Monument, honoring the rich cultural heritage of Misamis Oriental Province designed and created by the same Filipino artist, Eduardo Castrillo.

Cagayan de Oro, the capital city of the province of Misamis Oriental in Northern Mindanao (Region X) has been tagged as the adventure capital in Mindanao due to its adventure and leisure venues that tourists can avail when in the city. Also called “The City of Golden Friendship”, the city is proud of being included to the latest list of Top 10 Next Wave Cities in the country. My ATOP immersion in CDO through a walking tour is the most educational walk I did in one day for the past 44 years.