CAGAYAN DE ORO HISTORY

Prepared by
CANDICE MAY B. GAMAYON
Social Sciences Department
University of Science and Technology of Southern
Philippines
 Objectives:
• Create a narrative of the local history of your
barangay after the discussion of the local
history of Cagayan de Oro, using the analytic
approach.
• Post a digi-poster advertising your barangay or
the City in your social media account (FB, IG,
TikTok, etc).
 Dakbayan sa Cagayan de Oro
• capital of the province of
Misamis Oriental
• a 1st class highly urbanized
city in the region of
Northern Mindanao,
Philippines
• the regional center and
business hub of Northern
Mindanao
• 1950 - seal of Cagayan de Oro when
it attained its cityhood
• 1976 ,1990, 2000- replaced
• 2014, the 1990 seal was used again
contrary to recommendations of local
historians to readopt the 1950 seal
which was recognized as the seal of
the city by NHCP
• non-registration of the 1990 seal to
NHCP left its legality open to
question
 City of Cagayan de Oro
• growing Metropolitan Cagayan de Oro area
– includes the city of El Salvador,
– towns of Opol, Alubijid, Laguindingan, Gitagum,
Lugait, Naawan, Initao, Libertad and Manticao at
(western side)
– towns of Tagoloan, Villanueva, Jasaan, Claveria
and Balingasag (eastern side)

Coordinates: 8°29′N 124°39′E

 Twin Towns or Sister Cities
• Gwangyang City, South Korea (2012)
• Norfolk, Virginia USA (2008)
• Harbin City, China (2007)
• Tainan City, Taiwan (2005)
• Lawndale City, California USA (1986)
• Quezon City, Philippines
• Surigao City, Philippines
• Iligan City, Philippines
 Twin Towns or Sister Cities
• Sister cities (or twin towns) are a form of legal
or social agreement between towns, cities,
counties, oblasts, prefectures, provinces,
regions, states, and even countries in
geographically and politically distinct areas to
promote cultural and commercial ties.
 Boundaries
North - Macajalar Bay
South - provinces of
Bukidnon and Lanao del
Norte
East - municipality of
Tagoloan
West - municipality of
Opol
 Land Area
• 488.86 sq.km. representing 13.9 % of the
entire Misamis Oriental province
• 25 kilometers of coastline and a harbor,
Macajalar Bay
• 44.7 % (approximately) classified as
agricultural land
• 38.4 % classified as open spaces
 Land Area
• City -
412.80 km2 (159.38 sq mi)
• Elevation - 428 m (1,404 ft)
• Highest elevation -
2,892 m (9,488 ft)

Cagayan de Oro City Museum

Cagayan de Oro
Bridges
Ysalina bridge aka Carmen bridge –
connecting Carmen and downtown CDeO

Marcos bridge aka Maharlika bridge –

connecting the National highway in
Kauswagan and CM Recto Ave
Cagayan de Oro
Bridges

Kagay-an Bridge – Connecting Nazareth

and Carmen

Emmanuel Pelaez bridge aka Taguanao

bridge – which connects Balulang and
Taguanao
Cagayan de Oro
Bridges
JR Borja bridge –connects downtown
CDeO and Carmen.

Puntod-Kauswagan bridge –connect

Northern part of the city’s East and West
bank of the river
 Important dates & figures
• 1626 - Settlement re-established
• 1871 - Town
• 15 June 1950 - Charter
• 22 November 1983 - Highly urbanized city
• 80 - Total Barangays

A Tribute monument to the slain

members of the press
 Climate
• tropical monsoon climate (Am) Köppen
Climate Classification System
• 28 °C - annual average temperature of
• 39 °C - highest temperature to date of (June
1998)
• March and April - driest months
• August and September - wettest months
• June until November - rainy or wet season
 Economy
• Income class - 1st city income class
• Poverty incidence – 8.86% (2015)
• Revenue - ₱4,239,453,936.00 (2020)
• Assets – ₱11,848,072,732.00 (2020)
• Expenditure – ₱3,854,871,400.00 (2020)
• Liabilities - ₱3,244,265,210.00 (2020)
 Incumbent Officials
• Mayor – Oscar S. Moreno (PDP–Laban)
• Vice Mayor – Raineir Joaquin V. Uy (PDP–
Laban
• 1st District Representative – Rolando A. Uy
(1st District) (PDP–Laban)
• 2nd District Representative - Rufus B.
Rodriguez (2nd District) (CDP)
 Cagayan de Misamis Mayors
• https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mayor_of_Ca
gayan_de_Oro
 Post World War II Mayors
• Lucio S. Ramos (1946-1947), on his second
term as Municipal Mayor.
• Mariano A. Vélez Sr. (1948), appointed as
Military Mayor entrusted for the post-World
War II rehabilitation.
 City of Cagayan de Oro Mayors
• https://www.wikiwand.com/en/Mayor_of_Ca
gayan_de_Oro
 Popular Tourist Destinations
• white water rafting
or kayaking
adventures
 Religion
• Roman Catholicism (70 % of the population)
• Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro
– comprises the three civil provinces of Misamis
Oriental, Bukidnon, and Camiguin in Northern
Mindanao, as well as the entire Caraga region
– metropolitan seat on the island of Mindanao.
 Religion
• Most Reverend José Araneta Cabantan,
S.S.J.V., D.D. – current Archbishop of Cagayan
de Oro
– Installed on August 28, 2020
• seat is located at the Saint Augustine
Metropolitan Cathedral.
 Black Nazarene Shrine
• 2009, the Minor Basilica of the Black Nazarene
in Quiapo, Manila decided to move the replica
statue of the Black Nazarene to the
Archdiocesan Shrine of the Black Nazarene
(Jesus Nazareno Parish Church) at Claro M.
Recto Avenue
• January 9, “Translacion”
• one of only three sites in the country
Protestant and Evangelical Christianity
• 1916, Protestant missionary activity in the city
started
• Pentecostalism (increased with 2.8 percent of
the total population)
• Adventists, Latter-day Saints, Methodists
• Iglesia ni Cristo, Iglesia Filipina Independiente,
United Church of Christ in the Philippines,
Christ's Commission Fellowship, Victory
Christian Fellowship, Baptists, Reformed, and
the Jesus Miracle Crusade
TSADA CDO Ep 1 : Ang Dakbayan sa
Cagayan de Oro (CDO History)
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZwsjQQ
TvVw
• Published Jun 8, 2021
 HABITATION
• Between 350 and 377 AD +/- 15 YEARS
• Late Neolithic period
• Huluga (eight kilometers south of the present
Cagayan de Oro City)
• Himologan
 HULUGA
• promontory** with two main sections:
– a set of caves and
– an Open Site .
• The Open Site appears to be the village of the
original people of Cagayan de Oro.
 HULUGA CAVE
• once used as a burial place by the natives
• skullcap sent to the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography in 1977
• been badly damaged by guano collectors and
amateur treasure hunters
 CONTROVERSY
• 1992, the National Museum of the Philippines
recognized the archaeological value of Huluga
when it gave the Open Site and caves separate
accession numbers
• source of controversy when a team from the
University of the Philippines-Archaeological
Studies Program (UP-ASP)dismissed the
archeological importance of the site
– "camp-like area" and not a settlement and thus
not worthy of heritage protection under the laws
• 1999, mayor Vicente Y. Emano conceived the
plan to bulldoze Huluga to give way to a road-
and-bridge project
– project was stopped in 2001
– eventually continued in 2002
– construction destroyed at least 60% of the
archaeological site's open area, where the
majority of artifacts can be found
– protests against the heritage destruction was
made by cultural experts, but nothing happened
with their plea.
• 2003, the Heritage Conservation Advocates
(HCA) went to the open area of Huluga for a
scientific surface investigation
– Earthenware
– Chinese pottery sherds
– obsidian flakes
– animal bones
– an ancient Spanish coin
– a whale harpoon similar to those being used in
Lomblen Island, Indonesia
• HCA to file a case against Emano and the
contractor, UKC Builders, before the
Environmental Management Bureau (EMB)
• construction continued and was inaugurated
in September 2003 by Emano.

Emmanuel Pelaez bridge

aka Taguanao bridge – which
connects Balulang and Taguanao.
• Pres. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, speech in
UNESCO about gains in cultural conservation
• January 2004, City Council enacted an
ordinance that authorized Mayor Emano to
sign a contract with the Archaeological Studies
Program (ASP) of the University of the
Philippines to do salvage archaeology in
Huluga and vicinities
• program did not make cooperative linkages
with existing archeological programs from
Xavier University
• ASP declared that the site was an ancient
camp, not a settlement, due to their findings
in the destroyed archaeological site
• report did not consider the findings of Xavier
University
• issue later climbed into the Philippine Senate,
where Loren Legarda issued a resolution for
investigation of the matter
• investigation was never approved by the other
members of the Senate
• artifacts found in the Huluga Caves and its
destroyed open site from 1992 to 2003 are
housed in Xavier University, Capitol University,
and the University of the Philippines
 ETYMOLOGY
• cagayan or kagayan means "river“
– Dr. Lawrence A Reid (Researcher Emeritus of the
Department of Linguistics, University of Hawai'i)
• karayan, kahayan, kayayan, kalayan and
kayan
– mean river and may have evolved from an ancient
word with the same meaning.
 "Cagayan"
• shared by other places in the Philippines
– province of Cagayan in northern Luzon
– Cagayan Islands in the northern Sulu Sea
– former Cagayan de Sulu, currently named Mapun,
an island in Tawi-Tawi.
 PRE-SPANISH
SOCIO-CULTURAL ASPECT
• A mixed stock of Bukidnons and Visayas who
lived in a settlement perched on a cliff,
overlooking a river.
• Men: massive tattoos
• Women: wore intricate jewelry
• Religion: polytheistic
 PRE-SPANISH
POLITICO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS
• Barangay
• Datu
• Code of Laws
• Pastoral and agricultural
 ENCOMIENDA
• January 25, 1571
• Spanish government granted this area,
including what is now Northern Mindanao, as
an encomienda to Juan Griego.
 Arrival of the Spaniards
• 1622, two Augustinian Recollect missionaries
first came to Huluga:
– Fray Juan de San Nicolas
– Fray Francisco de la Madre de Dios
• Spanish documents in 1500s already referred
to the area around Himologan as Cagayan.
 CONVERSION
• 1626
• Fray Agustin de San Pedro
• studied mathematics, architecture, gunnery,
and military strategy at the University of
Salamanca.
• persuaded Datu Salangsang, to transfer his
settlement down river
 FORTIFICATION OF KAGAYAN
• Sultan Kudarat and his
men charged to
Cagayan to attack the
Spanish missionaries
• "El Padre Capitan“
commanded a wooden
fortress and
watchtower in Cagayan
to obstruct the
incoming horde of
Sultan Kudarat
 FORTIFICATION OF KAGAYAN
• Fuerza Real de San Jose - garrison
• 1730, fortress was rebuilt with stones
• 1875, Lt. Col. Jose Carvallo, the Spanish
politico-military governor of Misamis,
demolished it in and used the stones to pave
the streets of the town.
 Gaston Park
• named after Segundo Gaston, a former pre-
war Municipal Mayor of Cagayan de Oro
• site of the first Spanish settlement established
in 1622
• was the main plaza during the era, even
becoming an execution ground for Spanish
criminals
 Gaston Park
• Philippine-American War, Gaston Park was a
training ground for local soldiers
• site of the Battle of Cagayan de Misamis (April
7, 1900)
• After World War II, cherry blossoms were
planted in the park as a gift from the Japanese
Government
 Du-aw Kagay-an Park
• proposed by Mayor Pablo Magtajas after 120
Kagay-anons returned home from the United
States and Canada in August 1987
• also the place where the Birhen sa Kota sa
Cagayan de Oro (Our Blessed Lady of the Holy
Rosary) was said to have appeared, saving the
early settlement from invaders
Du-aw Kagay-an Park
• every August during
the City Fiesta, the
park serves as the
endpoint of the
fluvial parade,
which begins from
Macabalan
 CHURCH CONSTRUCTION
• 1674, Recoletos made Cagayan their mission
center
• Under father Pedro de Santa Barbara, they
built the first Christian church that
coincidentally finished on August 28, 1780 –
the feast of San Agustin
– Augustine fiesta by accident
• 1845, Fray Simon Loscos de Santa Catalina
reconstructed the church
• used marine stones from China protruding
buttresses and a single belfry inside were a
magnificent altar and sanctuary with carved
wooden niches and paintings.
• 1945, destroyed during the Japanese bombing
 Political Unit
• 1818, Segundo Distrito de Misamis,
composed of 4 districts and the largest district
in Mindanao.
– Partidos de Cagayan
– area composed of today's Misamis Oriental,
Misamis Occidental, Camiguin, Bukidnon, Lanao,
Zamboanga del Norte, and the northern part of
Cotabato.
• Misamis (Ozamis City), capital
 Cagayan de Misamis
• February 27, 1872, the Spanish Governor
General Carlos Maria de la Torre issued a
decree declaring Cagayan the permanent
capital of Segundo Distrito de Misamis.
 Casa Real de Cagayan
• built in 1831, the site of today's city hall of
Cagayan de Oro
• residence of all Spanish politico-military
governors of Misamis, who were all lieutenant
colonels
Santa Cruz
• 1888, the Recoletos
erected a wooden
cross
 Outbreak of Philippine Revolution
• September 29, 1896, a group of Filipinos in
Iligan -- who had been deported from Luzon to
undergo military discipline -- received
instructions from the Manila Katipunan, and
consequently mutinied against the Spanish
soldiers.
• They raided the Spanish armory, then
ransacked all convents and homes of Spanish
peninsulares from Iligan to Cagayan de
Misamis.
• They proceeded to Bukidnon, where they
forged an alliance with a band of natives.
• They attacked Balingasag, and raided the
outpost of Gingoog on January 1897.
• Anger intensified when the rebels learned of
Dr. Jose P. Rizal's execution.
• But they were subdued when the Spanish
government recalled and used a gunboat from
the Tercio Distrito de Surigao.
 2000, a National Historial Institute marker, now
commonly referred to as the Siete de Abril marker
commemorating the battle in 1900
• the town’s leaders
hoisted the Philippine
flag in Casa Real
• the second flag raising
ceremony in the Island
of Mindanao after
Surigao
– the flag was hoisted 14
days after that of
Surigao
 Raising of the Flag
• December 10, 1898, Treaty of Peace
• Spanish governor relinquished his authority to
two Filipinos elected by Aguinaldo:
– Jose Roa y Casas, who was appointed first
governor of Misamis; and
– Toribio Chavez, appointed the first Filipino mayor
of Cagayan de Misamis.
• January 10-11, 1899, Cagayan de Misamis
celebrated independence by organizing the
so-called Fiesta Nacional
• The people held a parade, played music,
presented speeches and fired cannons outside
the Casa Real.
• second time the Aguinaldo government was
declared and the new Philippine flag raised on
the Mindanao island
• January 16, 1900, the town leaders signed a
pact of resistance against the Americans in
Club Popular, a local tavern of the principalia
class.
• Atty Nicolas Capistrano was elected to lead
the revolution with the rank of general. His
staff was Major Apolinar Velez and Captain
Vicente Roa
 American Occupation
• March 31, 1900, Americans invaded Cagayan
de Misamis
– bombing the flag fluttering at Macabalan wharf
• April 7, 1900, Filipino resistance fighters
retaliated led by Gen. Nicolas Capistrano
– fighting erupted in the town center
– followed by the Battle of Agusan Hill, led by Capt.
Vicente Roa y Racines, who was killed with his
men.
Capture Of Capistrano And His Men
• This event happened in Gaston Park near the
San Agustin Cathedral, an iconic park where
history has witnessed bloodshed from the
Spanish rule until the American assault. A
story that is lost in the memories of the new
generation of Kagay-anons.
Image Source |
http://historyofarchitecture.weebly.com/ecclesiastical.html
 Battle of Makahambus Hill
• June 4, 1900, for the first time in the entire
Philippine-American War, the Americans lost
to the Filipino revolutionaries
– Col. Apolinar Velez
• Though the win of Macahambus Hill is
secured, the over-all victory of the Philippine-
American war has never been achieved.
Statue of Gov. Apolinar Velez on horseback
Image Source | http://www.cdopedia.com/general/cagayan-de-oro-before
Women Freedom Fighters of
Misamis

Arcadia Valenzuela by Nonoy Estarte ( XU Museo de Oro

Collecion, photo courtesy of Oscar Floirendo)
 Arcadia y Salud
• 1659, a shaman named Salud (Salor in some
accounts) led a brief and unsuccessful revolt
against Spanish authority
• Salud was a baylan of the old religion and
sought to revive her ancestors’ customs and
traditions
• according to Spanish accounts, she attracted
many followers through her Panambal
(traditional healing) and Panagna( fortune-
telling)
• she conducted animist ceremonies in the
tribes’ sacred grounds near the town
• Fr. Nicolas dela Madre de Dios, put her under
close surveillance, and launched a campaign
to discredit her among her followers.
• Some time after, Salud and her
son Apolinar were captured and brought to
Cagayan where they were sentenced to death
and executed
 Arcadia Valenzuela y Babangha
• an amazon warrior from Lapasan, who fought
against the Spaniards and the Americans
during the country’s long fight for
independence
• Valenzuela organized a troop of women
revolutionaries who came mostly from
Lapasan
• According to accounts collated by the late Fr.
Francisco Demetrio, curator of the Xavier
University Museo de Oro, these amazon
warriors gathered at the public plaza, present
day Gaston Park, for drill and military
instruction together with the men
• Rumors abounded that she was invulnerable
to bullets that men feared she was a balbal
(witch) and thus she remained single until her
death by smallpox in 1923 at the age of 49.
Arcadia Valenzula – Heroine of Lapasan by Cris Rollo (Tile
Mosaic on Marine Plyboard 4×4 feet)
• Romano Ellovido of the Xavier University
library, great grandnephew of Arcadia
Valenzuela, led the Valenzuela clan’s move to
have their ancestor properly recognized, and
have petitioned the Lapasan barangay council
to set up a memorial for Arcadia and the
forgotten women warriors of Lapasan.
• The campaign resulted in the renaming of the
then Agora Road in Lapasan to Arcadia
Valenzuela Avenue through the Cagayan de
Oro Historical and Cultural Commission, which
was subsequently enshrined with a city
ordinance passed by the Cagayan de Oro City
Council.
Arcadia Valenzuela Avenue, Bgy. Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City
(CTTO)
American Governors who set foot:
• William Howard Taft (who became the 27th
US president)
• William Cameron Forbes
• James F. Smith
• Theodore Roosevelt Jr.
 Brigadier General
William Cameron Forbes James Francis Smith Theodore Roosevelt III
(May 21, 1870 – (January 28, 1859 – June (September 13, 1887 –
December 24, 1959) 29, 1928) July 12, 1944)
• 1928, St. Augustine School was inaugurated
 Province of Misamis
• 1818, Misamis was composed of four
partidos:
– Partido de Misamis (what is now Misamis
Occidental)
– Partido de Dapitan (now part of Zamboanga del
Norte)
– Partido de Cagayan (now Misamis Oriental)
– Partido de Catarman (part of what is now known
as the Province of Camiguin)
 Philippine Legislature Act 3537
• Misamis used to be a part of Cebu as a district
• District of Misamis used to cover as far as
Iligan of the Province of Lanao
• 1917, separated when the Department of
Mindanao and Sulu was created by the
Americans in 1917
• November 2, 1929, Philippine Legislature
enacted Act 3537 dividing Misamis into two
provinces
 Legislative Act 3777
• 28 November 1939, division between Misamis
Oriental and Misamis Occidental
• Don Gregorio Pelaez, first governor of Misamis
Oriental
• Don Jose Fortich Ozamiz, first governor of
Misamis Occidental
– City of Ozamiz was named after him
 Japanese Occupation
• May 3, 1942, American and Philippine forces
fought heroically against invading Japanese
forces from Panay
– allied forces retreated to more defensive positions
outside the city.
• The Japanese burned most of the city and
took up residence at the Ateneo de Cagayan
University, now Xavier University Grade School
and used the ferry crossing near San Agustin
Church.
 Japanese Occupation
• Japanese army implemented a scorched earth
policy
• “scorched earth policy”, they burned the
town into ashes, but left the big buildings as
their command post
• October 10, 1944, American planes
bombarded Cagayan de Misamis to drive out
the Japanese, eventually liberating the place
on May 10, 1945
 Capt. Antonio Julian Montalvan
• Feb. 8, 1906 – Aug. 30,
1944; medical doctor
• member of an espionage
team working for the return
of Gen. Douglas MacArthur
to the Philippines
• became part of a Manila
spy network, was captured,
tortured and decapitated
by the Japanese.
 Japanese Occupation
• Colonel Fumio Suzuki and 200 of his men
escaped capture during the liberation of the
city and withdrew into the mountainous
jungle
– caught two years later; only 38 survived by
cannibalizing the Higaonon tribal people
– 70 people were eaten.
The Park (Old Gaston Park)
1Lt. Ronaldo B. Tiano
• Eldest, a 1st Lt. in the
nascent Philippine
Army Air Force (PAAC)
with the 7th School
Squadron based at
Maniquis Field, Nueva
Ecija
• survived the Bataan
Death March
 1Lt. Ronaldo B. Tiano
• joined the 120th Infantry Regiment under Maj.
Angeles Limena as one of his staff
• joined the newly organized Philippine Air
Force (PAF) but left after 18 months to join
Philippine Airlines (PAL)
• died in a plane crash on Jan. 24, 1950.
 Sgt. Nestor B.Tiano
• second eldest sibling
• killed in action vs. the
Japanese at the young
age of 24 while
repelling a Japanese
attack at Aglaloma
Point, Bataan on Jan.
23, 1942
2nd Lt. Apollo B. Tiano
• 2nd Lt. and platoon
leader of “C”
Company,
1st Battalion,
120th Regiment,
108th Division based
in Initao, Misamis
Oriental
 2nd Lt. Apollo B. Tiano
• died fighting with the 19th Battalion Combat
Team (BCT) of the Philippine Expeditionary
Force to Korea (PEFTOK) defending Hill 191
(also called Arsenal Hill) and Hill Eerie,
comprising Combat Outpost No. 8 at the
Chorwon-Siboni corridor in the west central
sector of Korea on June 20,1952
• Philippine Navy’s BRP Apollo Tiano (now
decommissioned) was named in his honor
• Uriel became a sergeant of “A” Company, 1st
Battalion, 120th Regiment, 108th Division
based at Pangayawan, Alubijid, Misamis
Oriental, and ended the war in the Signal
Corps.
• Jaime, youngest brother ,was a private first
class at only 15 years of age, and served as
medical aide of the 120th Regimental Hospital
together with his sister 1st Lt. Fe B. Tiano
(RN), who was the unit’s sole regimental nurse
at the regimental hospital at Talacogon,
Lugait, Misamis Oriental.
Lt. Fe B. Tiano and her brother PFC Jaime during the Liberation. To Lt. Tiano’s
right is Cpl. Jesus B. Ilogon (Ilogon Family archives)
 Postwar Era
• 1948, the barrios of El Salvador and Molugan
with their sitios known as Sala, Sambulawan,
Sinaloc, Lagtang, Talaba, Kalabaylabay and
Hinigdaan were separated from Cagayan de
Oro to form the town of El Salvador
 Postwar Era
• 1950, the barrios of Opol, Igpit, and lower
Iponan (now Barangay Barra) were separated
from Cagayan de Oro to form the town of
Opol

Cagayan De Oro skyline

 Charter
• June 15, 1950, President Elpidio Quirino
• Republic Act No. 521, granted the status of a
chartered city to the Municipality of Cagayan
de Misamis
• Cagayan de Oro Congressman and later Vice
President of the Philippines, Emmanuel Pelaez
 City Charter
• 1946, Misamis
Congressman Pedro
S. Baculio lobbied in
the Philippine
Congress so that
Cagayan de Misamis,
which was reeling
from the ashes of
war, would be
declared a city.
City Charter
• December 17, 1949,
the new Congressman
Emmanuel Pelaez
introduced House Bill
No. 54, entitled "An Act
Creating the City of
Cagayan de Oro“
 City Charter
• “de Oro” affixed to “Cagayan” based on
Congressman Pelaez’s request, in appreciation
of the gold mining of the 1500s that were
present in the barrios of Cagayan de Oro
• 1948, the Barrio of El Salvador has been
declared as a town
– Opol has also been separated and was
acknowledged as a town on 1950.
• President Elpidio Quirino signed the city
charter at 11:30 am, June 15, 1950.
 City Charter
• REPUBLIC ACT NO. 521, June 15, 1950
– AN ACT CREATING THE CITY OF CAGAYAN DE ORO
• President Elpidio Quirino signed the city
charter at 11:30 am, June 15, 1950.
 Local Executives
• Max Y. Suniel – last mayor of the municipality
of Cagayan de Misamis and first appointed
mayor of Cagayan de Oro
• Justiniano R. Borja (1954)
– elected as mayor again in 1955, and was
repeatedly elected and appointed until he died on
October 3, 1964.
– "Arsenio Lacson of Cagayan de Oro", being
responsible for the phenomenal growth of the city
since 1959, when he opened the Cogon Market.
 Archdiocese
• June 29, 1951, Pope Pius XII created the first
Catholic archbishopric in Mindanao, when he
elevated the Diocese of Cagayan into an
archdiocese.
• Santiago T. G. Hayes, S.J. was the first
archbishop.
– founded Ateneo de Cagayan on June 7, 1933
– renamed Xavier University on March 22, 1958
– the first Mindanao university.
 Martial Law Era
• one of the centers of political opposition in
the Philippines
• November 22, 1983, declared a highly
urbanized city by the Ministry of Local
Government
• 1986, the city participated in the People
Power Revolution through rallies in the streets
of the city
 Culture and Arts
• Higalaay Festival (formerly the Kagay-an
Festival, then the Higalaay Kagay-an Festival) -
a week-long celebration in honor of Cagayan
de Oro's patron saint St. Augustine held every
August
 Culture and Arts
• "Himugso“ - which means birth, is a week-
long celebration of Cagayan de Oro's Charter
Day and Philippine Independence Day
• Charter Day and Independence day are non-
working holidays and a roster of special
activities is lined up annually to mark the dual
special occasion
 Culture and Arts
• "Himugso“ - which means birth, is a week-
long celebration of Cagayan de Oro's Charter
Day and Philippine Independence Day
• Charter Day and Independence day are non-
working holidays and a roster of special
activities is lined up annually to mark the dual
special occasion
 Kumbira
• a culinary show and exhibit that started in
1996 by Kagay-anons hoteliers and restaurants
• competition is divided into students and
professionals where hotel and restaurant
management schools and professional chefs
compete against each other in their respective
categories
 Bibliography/References
• Demetrio, Francisco R., S.J. The Local Historical
Sources of Northern Minadanao. Xavier
University, 1995
• Kinaadman XIII (1983), Xavier University,
Cagayan de Oro
• The Local History Primer (2018) DepEd-CDO
LGU-Archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro
 Bibliography/References
• https://mindanaogoldstardaily.com/el-padre-
capitan/
• https://aboutcagayandeoro.com/fray-agustin-
de-san-pedro-el-padre-capitan-and-the-first-
battle-of-cagayan/
• https://www.cagayandeoro.gov.ph/index.php/
item/303-history-of-cagayan-de-oro-city.html
 Bibliography/References
• http://heritage.elizaga.net/history/
• https://www.philstar.com/the-
freeman/opinion/2017/06/29/1715008/don-
gregorio-a-pelaez-last-governor-misamis
• https://www.projectlupad.com/8-sister-cities-
of-cagayan-de-oro-international-and-local-
cities/
 Thank you! 
Contact: candicemay.gamayon@deped.gov.ph