MY CHILDHOOD IN CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

PLATFORM AND PROGRAMS FOR CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY

HISTORY OF CAGAYAN DE ORO’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN MINDANAO

 

  MY CHILDHOOD IN
CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY
by
RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ

           I was born around  eight o’clock in the morning  of September 13, 1953, a Sunday at the  Puericulture Center (later renamed  Maternity and Children’s Hospital) located in front of the Gaston Park, Carmen St., Cagayan  de Oro City, with Dr.  Manuel Montenegro and Dra. Angeles Cadiz as the attending physicians and  Mrs. Luz de  Bacay as assisting nurse.  I weighed 8.2 pounds.

          I was baptized on December 20, 1053 at the Cathedral and my godfathers were Atty. Aquilino Pimentel, Sr. and   Atty. Osmundo Waga  while    my godmother was Mrs.  Luz de Bacay.    My confirmation was on April 17, 1960 with Atty. Celso Liloc as my godfather.

.         When I was seven, I  went to  Kindergarten classes at Lourdes College and studied there until Grade II,  and I remember Sister  Aquilina of the  RVM as one of our  teachers.  I had my first communion at Lourdes College.  I transferred to Xavier  University (Ateneo de Cagayan) in Grade  III. Both Lourdes and Xavier  were a mere  walking distance from our residence at Pabayo Corner Victoria (now Bishop  Hayes) Sts.

          I graduated from Grade Seven at  Xavier  University.  Our school officials then were Fr. Theodore Daigler,  S.J. our Headmaster  and Fr.Neil   Quirke, S.J.,    our University Rector. I proceeded to High School, also at Xavier where I graduated in 1971 with Fr. Timoteo Butalid, S.J., our Principal and Fr. Luis Torralba, S.J., our Rector. Those four years in high school were  the happiest  moments of my life in Cagayan  de Oro City.

During my childhood, I went   swimming   with my friends and classmates at the Cagayan  River at the foot of the Carmen bridge. We went  to see movies at Lyric, Avenue and Gala  Theatres, and ate pancit after the movies at Yee’s Restaurant.  We bought  hot pan de sal at the Ah Fat Bakery and  our groceries from Bina Tan. 

The other movie houses were Fox Theater  of the Tamparongs at the corner of Corrales St. and J.R. Borja St. where we watched the premier  showing of such classics as  “Ben Hur” and “The Ten Commandments,”  and at the State Theater owned by the Malferraris  located in front of the City Central School.

We played  at the Divisoria, climbing up and going down the Cry of Balintawak Monument.  And the Plazans reigned at the  Plaza Divisoria.

We played  bowling and billiards at Double “E” at Kalambagohan.  We rode on “tartanillas” to go a little  farther like going to the Cogon market which seemed  very far at that time. I accompanied my mother  marketing there, buying meat at Baz’s stall, vegetables and “panakot”  from Lola Amparo Bautista  and I had goat’s milk and  “puto” from Tita  Connie Abellanosa right there at the market. 
Near the Cogon Market was Vista Theater, just  really a bodega,  which offered a triple program  (3 movies) at only 25 centavos.  We went hunting with  airguns at the hills of Nazareth,  and sometimes we just went too far----picking the mangoes of Mr. Inovero,

  We listened to  and got entertained by the national and local candidates at the Amphitheatre every election.   As a high school student, I heard Ninoy Aquino delivering a stirring campaign speech at the amphitheater.  We were all mesmerized when our own Maning Pelaez would speak before the crowd.

And  we started liking the Lourdes girls whom we meet  during  our parties in high school.  And we also had parties  with  the beautiful high school girls from Pilgrim Institute.
         
Our parents brought us shopping at Ludena’s Store, Wadhu’s Store and  Dadlanis  Novelty Shop.  For our school needs,  we  bought our books from Our Store owned by the Mosquedas, our school supplies from the P.F. Roa Store and the  Erlinda Store owned by the Respetos,  and MacMang Store.  We had our pictures taken by the Tabor Studio and Arce Studio.  The biggest hardware at the  time was Mindanao Lumber & Hardware owned by my classmate George Goking’s family  and the Oriental Hardware owned by the Gordiels.
         
There were few vehicles in  Cagayan and there was  no traffic. The horse was the king  of the road.   Then the Paras General Repair Shop owned by the family of my classmate Jess Paras, expanded to become the Paras Machineries, which pioneered in introducing  the AC (Auto Calesa)  Jeeps in Cagayan which were rebuilt military Jeeps dumped at the Mangima in Bukidnon after the war against the Japanese.
         
The Mayor of the city then was Justiniano  Borja  and when he died, grief pervaded the city and we attended the funeral procession as High School students of Xavier.   He was succeeded as Mayor by the very amiable Dr. Jesus Serina.

          Every feast of Christ the King, the XU boys will have a procession ending in front of the Archbishop’s Palace where Archbishop Hayes will lead the prayers in Cebuano with his American accent.  We became “conscious” when we pass by Lourdes College at Real St.,  (now Capistrano St.) as the Lourdes girls would line up at both sides of the street holding  lighted  candles while staring at us.
         
After classes in the afternoon in high school, we made “stand-by”  at the DBP, which is in front of  the X.U. Gym before proceeding to watch movies or play billiards.
         
The very well known refreshment  parlors  then were the Casino where you have the best ice cream and “barquillos”  and Fern’s Restaurant.  The  fashion  school in the city was Cecilio’s  Fashion School.
          The local newspapers were Ang Katarungan of the Neris and the Mindanao Star of Mr. Bien Cruz, who also  owned the Biema Shoe Store,  famous for its excellent leather shoes.
         
During our fiesta on August 28th ,  the feast of St. Augustine, as Boys Scouts,  later PMT cadets, we would  march starting at Real St. then to Licoan then  turning  right to Del Mar St.  (now A. Velez St.)  then to the Bandstand where Mayor Jesus Serina and other official would see us parade in front of them.

          The late sixties  also saw the rise  of youth  activism in Cagayan de Oro. I was in third year high school when we marched to protest on certain local issues  such as the inefficiency of   city’s water system and the rape committed by  a city policeman. Then  we progressed to national issues and we had seminars in Malasag conducted by the Khi Rho Movement of the Federation of Free Farmers.    We    organized    the   Young   Christian Socialists of the
Philippines (YCSP) and later,   the others,  became members of the Kabataang Makabayan (KM).

          After I secured a Del Monte-Philippine Packing  Scholarship, I left for Manila to study  in  De La Salle University  where I finished my AB-Economics Degree.
         
          My childhood and high school days in Cagayan de Oro were certainly the most memorable and happiest days of my life.

Platform and Programs for Cagayan De Oro City

I.          Introduction

          Cagayan de Oro City is one of the fastest growing cities of the Philippines.  The city is now the center of education, trade, commerce and  industry in Northern Mindanao.  It has sufficient infrastructure, transport and communication facilities, electric and water utilities, and services sector to support its growth.
However  in  spite  of  its rapid development and generation of
wealth,  gross inadequacies exist.  While we have good medical institutions,  our children in the far flung rural barangays and in  blighted or high density poor urban areas are denied medical care. 
While we have educational institutions  which are  centers of academic  excellence,  many children of school age are not attending  our elementary and high schools.  Of  our high school graduates, a big number are not able to afford a college education.
          While  we have expansions in our trade, commerce and manufacturing  industries,  more and more of our city’s labor force are  either unemployed or underemployed.
          Therefore, the limited resources of government, including my  countryside  development  funds  as Congressman, should be focused more on people rather than  physical structures; on health, education and employment rather than more roads, buildings,  bridges and  waiting sheds.

          “Ang Katawhan Labaw Sa Tanan”! (People Above  Everything  Else !).

 II.         THE HEALTH,  EDUCATION AND EMPLOYMENT    FOR DEVELOPMENT (HEED) PROGRAM

          Our program is capsulized into four  components:

Health          :          Provide adequate nutritional and medical
services to  those  in need.
Education : Provide educational opportunities to all.
Employment  : Provide linkages for employment opportunities to  the unemployed.
          Development:          Work for the over-all development of the
city of Cagayan de Oro

          To implement our HEED program, we will avail of the mechanisms established under the Local Government  Code of 1991.
          Secs. 106 and 117  of the Local Government Code of 1991 provides for  a  Barangay Development Council (BDC) to be headed by the punong barangay and composed of the following members:

Sec. 109    provides     for    the     BDC     to     mobilize   
people’s  participation in  local development efforts and to  prepare barangay development  plans based on local requirements.

Sec. 111   provides that each BDC shall create an executive committee to represent it and act in its behalf when it is not in session and to ensure that the decision of the council are faithfully carried out and implemented;

Sec. 112   provides that the BDC shall form sectoral or functional committees to assist them in the performance of their functions, while Sec. 113 constitutes for each local BDC a secretariat which shall be responsible for providing technical support, documentation of proceedings, preparation of reports and such other assistance as may be required in the discharge of its functions. 

          The Barangay Development Council BDC shall be reactivated and strengthened.  The BDC  through its Executive Committee will be the institution that shall carry out  our HEED program.

A.          HEALTH

 

No child shall be deprived of proper nutrition and medical

services. 

No barangay resident  shall be denied adequate medical care.

 

          The BDC  shall have a Health Committee to plan and implement programs for the health of all the barangay residents.  The Health Committee shall be composed of the Barangay Chairman, the Barangay Kagawad in charge of health, the Barangay Health Worker, the Barangay Nutrition Scholar,  a representative of the NGOs in the barangay and my representative as the Congressman.

          a)          The Health Committee shall immediately  conduct  a    survey  of  the health of the  people and children in the barangay.  This survey shall  find out who the malnourished children are and what sickness afflict them.  The survey should also list down the residents who are sick and the nature of their sickness.

food and vitamins.

the necessary medicines. 

          The expenses for the survey,  food,  medicines and vitamins and honoraria for the committee shall be taken  from my  congressional assistance fund.
 

City Hospital.

          No resident of Cagayan de Oro City specially the poor shall be deprived of modern medical facilities and expert medical care.  We will replicate good practices from other cities, such as Makati City.
          From my countryside development funds,  from  city government funds and loans from financial institutions, the J.R. Borja Memorial City Hospital shall be upgraded, refurbished and modernized.

          While the rich and middle class residents in the city can have easy access to the private hospitals and clinics in the city, the poor  could not  afford such facilities.

          A joint venture will be signed by the J.R. Borja  Memorial City Hospital, and the St. Ignatius Doctors Group, an NGO of volunteer doctors, and the latter  shall provide  expert but affordable professional services.

          A satellite  hospital will be established in Lumbia to handle emergency cases for residents of far flung barangays all the way from Mambuaya, Besigan and Tumpagon,  the frontier barangays  of the city.

          Indeed when the children in the barangays are healthy, they can proceed to get a good education.  With the lack of  proper nutrition and medical care, they might not even reach school age.  These children will someday become professionals or wage earners and uplift the status of their families in the barangays.

B.          EDUCATION

          No child in the city shall be unable to attend elementary or high school because of poverty.
          No high school graduate shall be unable to secure a degree or a vocational/technical course because of poverty.

 

 

The Barangay Development Council shall create an Education Committee consisting of the Barangay Chairman, the Barangay Kagawad in charge of education, a representative of parents in the barangay, a representative of the public schools located in the Barangay, a representative of the NGOs in the barangay and my  representative as    the Congressman.

a)          The Education  Committee shall undertake a survey of all children of school age in the barangay and find out who are attending classes and who are not, and find out the causes why they are not in school.

          b)          It  shall conduct seminars for parents about the Convention of the Rights of Children.  Children below 15 years old shall not be employed or made to work and that they should be provided with primary education.  Those who finished primary education should proceed to high school.

afford to buy the school uniforms, to pay the miscellaneous  fees and other expenses.   Also, they cannot afford transportation fares in going to school.  These  fees, transportation and other expenses shall be subsidized .
          d)          The school children shall be given food at the school for lunch.  The parents shall take turns cooking the lunch of the children.

          We shall bring all children of school age in the barangay to the schools at whatever cost.  After high school, all graduates shall  have the opportunity to take degree courses or vocational/technical courses, depending on their mental strength or aptitude. It is only through education that families can be liberated from the bondage of poverty.

          The expenses for the survey, seminars, school  fees, transportation and other expenses of the school children shall be taken from my countryside  development funds.

 

We  should  establish  the P.N. Roa  Memorial City  College for the poor but deserving students from the barangays in the city.  While the city is home to  no less than ten colleges and universities, poor but deserving students are unable to pay the tuition in said schools.

There must therefore be a College financed by my countryside development funds, the City Government,  and if necessary through loans from financial institutions  in order to provide standard but affordable education to the poor students from the barangays of the city.

The College shall focus  initially on three degree courses namely:
          a)          Nursing
          b)          Education
          c)          Information Technology
          d)          Maritime/Nautical
         
These four  courses are geared towards professions in demand in the United States and the rest of the rich countries.  These courses assure immediate employment abroad at high wages in Dollars.  The College will likewise assist in placing them for overseas employment so that after graduation and  some training they will be able to get employment abroad.  When our professionals are earning dollars  abroad they will  remit them to their families in the barangays and hence uplift their families from poverty.

The Nursing Department of the  College will be tied up with the modernized  J.R. Borja Memorial City Hospital.
         
The College will likewise offer technical education and skills development courses for hotel and restaurant management, tourism, marine transport, agricultural technology, auto mechanics, electrician, plumbing, pipe filters,  air conditioning, refrigeration, tig  welding, flame cutters,  furniture making, heavy equipment operators, cooking, sewing, etc. which will be tied up with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA)  and its ladderized education program.  The College will likewise assist in their placement for employment  abroad or in the City.

C.          EMPLOYMENT

          No graduate of degrees or technical education in Cagayan de Oro shall be denied opportunity for work abroad or locally.

          Unemployment or the inability to get any income destroys the dignity of man. If  man is unproductive, he is discouraged and frustrated.  There shall be work for those able and willing to work.

1.          Investment in Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)

In coordination with the City Government, we shall provide for facilities and incentives to the business process outsourcing industry which refers to the outsourcing by  large companies of some of  their back-office operations such as accounting, contact center services, human resource administration and logistics to other companies for a fee. These call centers, medical and legal transcription companies will locate themselves in Cagayan de Oro.  These BPO companies require a lot of  manpower that will give employment to Cagayan’s labor force.  Our City College will tie-up with these BPO companies so that our graduates will be trained by them and then employed by them.

As   stated   earlier,   our   city   college,   the    P.N.  Roa 
Memorial  City College  will produce professionals and technical and skills  educated individuals who will work abroad and locally.
          The College will tie-up with the industrial, commercial, trading and services,  including the business process outsourcing, sectors in the city so that our students will already have an apprenticeship program with these companies, assuring that when they graduate they will be hired. Our students will be trained in accordance with the needs of these sectors.

 

The    Barangay   Development   Council   (BDC)   will    create  
an Employment Committee composed of the Barangay Chairman, the Kagawad in charge of economic  activities in the barangay, a representative of the NGOs in the barangay  and my  representative as  Congressman.
         
a)          The Employment Committee will conduct a survey of  residents of the barangay who are employed and who are not.  Those who are not employed shall be advised to go to the  Placement Office of the City Government and the Congressman.

b)          The Placement Office of the City Government and the Congressman,  jointly funded by the City Government and  my countryside development fund, shall act as a matching agency where labor demand, international and local, shall be matched with labor supply in the City.

c)          This office will send missions abroad such as in the U.S. A. , Europe, Middle East and  East Asia,  to big companies in Metro Manila and  the different economic zones of the country, to look for job opportunities  for the residents of Cagayan de Oro.

This office will likewise make representations to all government departments, agencies, bureaus, corporations to be able to place Cagayanons in said offices.

III.        CONCLUSION

          A three year term as Congressman is so short and funding is likewise  limited.  I intend to concentrate and achieve results on our   Health, Education, Employment for Development (HEED) Program.
         
I do not wish to promise so many things which  cannot be realized.  There are so many things to be done for our beloved city, but  we can only do so much.  I believe that this program which is  people oriented is  so basic that it should be addressed first.
         
We focus on People.  See the smiles of the small children.  Watch the children happily going to school.  Hear of the successes of our graduates working abroad and locally.  Look at our workers contently doing their jobs.  See our families united and free from economic want.  Observe joyful marriages of two lovers.  Hear the cries of a newly born baby!  This is the circle of life!  Make every Cagayanon’s life meaningful and fruitful !

“Ang Katawhan Labaw Sa  Tanan” !

 

RUFUS B. RODRIGUEZ

HISTORY OF CAGAYAN DE ORO’S POLITICAL LEADERSHIP IN MINDANAO

A.      Spanish Period (1622-1898)

          1.       Datu Salangsang and Fray Agustin de San Pedro

In 1622, the Recollect Fathers arrived in Cagayan and started the evangelization of the area.  At that time the  natives in the area were under the vassalage of  Sultan Kudarat of Maguindanao.

Datu Salangsang was the recognized chieftain of the area and he decided to free Cagayan  from  the  yoke  of  Sultan  Kudarat and  stop paying tribute to him.

Fray Agustin de San Pedro arrived in 1624 in Cagayan and supported Datu Salangsang’s  resistance against Sultan Kudarat’s  attempt to subjugate Cagayan.  Datu Salangsang and Fray San Pedro, the priest-warrior known as “El Padre Capitan”, defeated the  Muslims in their attacks against the inhabitants of Cagayan. 

Datu Salangsang  and Fray San Pedro (El Padre Capitan) were recognized all over Mindanao  as the leaders of the resistance against Sultan Kudarat’s domination of Mindanao.

                   In 1818, the Spanish colonial  government  in  Manila  divided Mindanao into politico-military districts.  Cagayan became a part of  the Segundo Distrito de Misamis, the  largest  district  in  Mindanao which encompassed today’s

Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Camiguin, Bukidnon, Lanao, Zamboanga del Norte, and the northern part of Cotabato.

          In 1850, Cagayan became the capital of the District of Misamis as it has become the commercial and  cultural  center of  Misamis and the northern part of Mindanao.  Cagayan therefore became the seat  of  power of the politico-military  District of Misamis.

B.      The First Philippine  Republic  (1898-1901)

          1.       Nicolas Capistrano, Apolinar Velez and Vicente Roa

          Nicolas Capistrano became the supreme head of the Cagayan  forces fighting the Americans.  In the first battle of Cagayan on April 7, 1900, the Cagayanons fought   bravely  but were repulsed by the American.  A hundred  Cagayanons died.  This Battle of  Cagayan was known all over Mindanao and gave inspiration to all freedom loving Mindanaonons in fighting the American occupiers despite overwhelming odds.

                   The Cagayanons later divided themselves into two divisions.  The east division was under General Capistrano while the west division was given to Major Apolinar Velez.

On May 14, 1900,  the battle of Agusan was fought.  Captain Vicente Roa  heroically died in that encounter along with 45 other brave Cagayanons.  Mindanao again learned of the bravery of the people of Cagayan.

On June 4, 1900, the Cagayanons won the first victory against the Americans in the entire Mindanao island in the Battle of  Macahambus Hill.  Here, six Americans were killed, eleven were wounded and one was captured.  On the side of the Cagayanons, only one died and three were wounded.

This victory of Cagayanons against the Americans were reported and became famous not only in Mindanao but in the entire Philippine Islands.

Capistrano, Velez and Roa,  all Cagayanons, became famous as fearless  freedom fighters of Mindanao.

C.      American Period (1901-1941)

1.       Isidro Vamenta

          In the elections of 1928, Isidro Vamenta won as Assemblyman representing the 2^nd District of Misamis, which includes Cagayan.  He did not concentrate his activities only on the welfare of his district alone by also focused his attention to various national concerns,    among which  was the material development of the country to insure the stability of an economic structure of an independent Philippines.  He sponsored the law which provided for the appropriation of P860,000.00 for the purpose of promoting and developing our local industries and agriculture.

Assemblyman   Vamenta   together   with   some  of  his

colleagues sponsored Bill No. 134, having as its main object the creation of the National Coconut Corporation, to improve the quality of Philippine copra in order to command better prices  in the world market and shall exercise direct control over the exportation of copra.  He also sponsored a bill appropriating P200,000.00 for the purpose of determining, through scientific analysis of the soil in different parts of the Philippines, the kind of plant suitable to a particular tract of land and at the same time would be beneficial to the planters.

He later became the Secretary of Department of Mindanao and Sulu.

Isidro Vamenta became a leading political leader in Mindanao and was  known nationally.

D.      Japanese Period  (1941-45)

          a)       Herminigildo Avancena and Pedro Baculio

Upon the arrival of the Japanese, Mayor Herminigildo Avancena of Cagayan and Governor Pedro  Baculio  of Misamis Oriental went to the mountains and established a Free  Cagayan Movement.  This movement was affiliated with the “Free Philippine Movement”  of Col. Wendell W. Fertig, the overall guerilla commander in Mindanao.  Baculio later became Congressman of Misamis Oriental.

b)       Fr. Edward Haggerty , Ignacio Cruz and Captain Jaldon

Fr. Haggerty, Rector of the Ateneo de Cagayan, later known as Guerilla Padre, joined the leaders of the guerilla movement against the Japanese in Cagayan, Misamis and Bukidnon.

Ignacio Cruz and Captain Jaldon commanded large guerrilla units in Cagayan,  Misamis and Bukidnon and fought the Japanese.

The exploits of these freedom fighters were known throughout Mindanao during the days of the Japanese occupation.

E.      Period After Philippine Independence (1946-1972)

1)       Emmanuel N. Pelaez

In the elections of 1949, Emmanuel N. Pelaez, 1939 Bar Topnotcher, was elected Congressman of Misamis Oriental which included Cagayan.  He authored the law that made Cagayan de Oro  a city on June 15, 1950.

In   the   1953    elections,    Pelaez  was elected Senator of the

Republic.  Honest, brilliant, and eloquent in the Senate,  he captured the imagination not only of Mindanao but the entire nation.

In  the   elections  of 1961, Pelaez won as Vice President of the

country,  the  first  one  produced  not only by Misamis Oriental and

Cagayan  de  Oro  but  by  the entire Mindanao Island.  He was  also

appointed  Secretary   of   Foreign   Affairs   by   President  Diosdado

Macapagal.

2) Pedro N. Roa

In  the 1967 election, Pedro “Oloy” Roa was elected Governor

of  Misamis Oriental.  In 1969, he  was elected its Congressman.  He

was  also   Mayor   of   Cagayan   de   Oro.   He  was  known  for his

philanthrophy, giving school buildings, churches and constructing 

roads  for   the   people    of    Misamis  Oriental   and  Cagayan  de 

Oro.    He   was  one  of the trusted political  leaders  of    President

Marcos in Mindanao.

3)       Concordio C. Diel and Reuben R. Canoy

In the 1971 elections, Concordio  C. Diel was elected governor of Misamis Oriental.  Seven years later he  was elected Regional  Assemblyman for Region 10 in the  1978 elections, and  then appointed  Minister of State for Local Government of the country.  He was elected Assemblyman for Misamis Oriental in 1984.  Diel became  an Undersecretary of Local Governments.  He was one of the recognized political leaders of Mindanao.

Also in the 1971 elections,  Reuben R. Canoy was elected Mayor of Cagayan de Oro.   He was appointed Undersecretary of  Public Information by President Marcos. In 1978 he was elected Regional Assemblyman for Region 10.  He founded the Mindanao Independence Movement of 1986 in order to pursue self-determination for  Mindanao through peaceful and legal means.

F.      Martial Law Period (1972-1986)

1. Homobono A. Adaza and Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr.

In the January 30, 1980 elections. Homobono A. Adaza, former  UP Collegian Editor In Chief and vocal critic  of President Marcos, who organized a political party for Mindanao called  the Mindanao Alliance,  won as Governor of Misamis Oriental.  Mindanao saw a leader of Mindanao emerging in the person of Adaza who waged a vigorous opposition  to Martial Law.  He  went on to became Assemblyman of Cagayan de Oro in 1984, and distinguished himself as a fiscalizer of the  Marcos Regime and who questioned the canvassing and proclamation of President Marcos by the Batasang Pambansa in 1986.

Also in the 1980  elections, Aquilino Q. Pimentel, Jr. won as Mayor of Cagayan de Oro city.  During the Constitutional Convention in 1970 to 1971, , Pimentel distinguished himself as an independent, progressive  and anti-Marcos delegate to the convention.  He was elected Congressman of Cagayan de Oro in 1984 as an opposition candidate against the Marcos KBL  candidate.  He jointly founded the Pilipino Democratic Party, (PDP) to fight the Marcos machinery.

In 1986, upon  the ouster of Marcos, Pimentel  was appointed Minister of the Ministry of Local Government, the first Cagayanon   to be appointed into a  cabinet position as Pelaez was from Medina, Misamis Oriental.

In the May 11, 1987 elections, Pimentel was elected Senator of the Republic.  He later became the Senate President, the first Mindanaonon to hold such position.

G.      The New Republic (1986) Up To Present

1. Vicente Emano

After   the    February 1986 EDSA     Revolution   Mayor Vicente   Emano  of Tagoloan was  appointed Officer In Charge Governor of Misamis Oriental. 

In the 1988 elections  he was elected Governor of Misamis Oriental.  He was re-elected twice.  He became a leading figure of the Governor’s League of Mindanao and was recognized as one of its leaders. 

In 1998, he was elected Mayor of Cagayan de Oro City under the banner of Presidential Candidate Erap Estrada.  He was re-elected twice as Mayor of the City, and well acknowledged to be the political kingpin of Cagayan de Oro,  a recognized leader of Mindanao.

1. Erasmo Damasing and Constantino Jaraula

In   the  1992  elections,  Erasmo  Damasing,  a  lawyer/educator and former councilor was elected Congressman of Cagayan de Oro and re-elected  in 1995.  He distinguished himself during his two terms in the House of Representatives as an eloquent and hardworking legislator, considered as one of  Mindanao’s political leaders.

In  the  1998  elections,   Constantino  Jaraula   who  was also former Councilor of Cagayan de Oro and board member of Misamis Oriental was elected Congressman of Cagayan de Oro City.  During his three terms in the House of Representative,  he became Majority Floor Leader, and  distinguish  himself as an articulate legislator  who had a firm grasp  of our Constitution and our laws.

These illustrious men have prominently projected Cagayan de Oro  in the Mindanao map.  They have made Cagayan de Oro the the political center of Mindanao.  Indeed Cagayan de Oro has offered political leadership in Mindanao  which has been recognized in the national level.