From Casa Real to city hall (2)

A. Paulita Roa

Conclusion

1900  –  In the morning of March 30, the people were startled to hear the booming of the cannon from Buntola Hill in Macasandig. They knew what it meant – that the most dreaded day has come for the Americans have arrived. A large number of American battleships were sighted through telescopes by a small unit up in Buntola  Hill that was headed by Lt. Clementino Chaves; it was unloading  hundreds of soldiers at the mouth of Cagayan River. The local leaders acted wisely by not resisting the invaders who came with superior arms.Gen. Bates, Col. Goodwin, the commander of Reg. No. 40 of the U.S. Volunteers and Maj. James. F. Case went directly to Casa Real where they met Provincial President Jose Roa y Casas and other provincial officials together with Municipal President of Cagayan de Misamis, Toribio Chaves. They relieved all the local officials of their duties except Chaves and the head of the local police, Cipriano Vamenta, until further advice.

Many men and women took to the hills and formed the Liber Troop or the Liberation Army with Gen. Nicolas Capistrano as the head. This marked the start of the resistance war against the Americans in northern Mindanao.

1901 – In April 7, exactly a year after the Battle of Cagayan de Misamis, the soldiers of the Liber Troop formally surrendered to the Americans at the town plaza of Sumilao. Tirso Neri y Roa became the first Municipal President of Cagayan and Manuel Corrales became the first Provincial President of the Misamis Province under the American colonial government.

Casa Real was once again the center of political powe in northern Mindanao. The important social and cultural events were held there.The town’s official  name was shortened to Cagayan. Some of the Cagayan’s most distinguished guests who were received in Casa Real were:

• Gov. Gen. William Howard Taft, who later became the 27th President of the United States.
• Gov. Gen. Theodore Roosevelt Jr., son and namesake of the 26th President of the United States.
• Gov. Gen. James Smith
• Gov. Gen. William Cameron Forbes who came to inaugurate the new Misamis Provincial High School in 1909.
• Speaker of the Philippine Assembly, Sergio Osmena Sr. and House Deputy Speaker, Jose Clarin
• Manuel Roa, Governor of Cebu

1907-1909  – Two prominent Kagay-anons and veterans of the Philippine-American War were elected to new high official positions — Manuel Corrales as a “Diputado” of the first Philippine Assembly, the forerunner of Philippine Congress and Nicolas Capistrano as Philippines senator.

1920s  –  Casa Real or the Municipio as the building was later called, was razed to the ground during one of the big fires in town. The Municipio was moved to Divisoria at the site of today’s Veterans Bank.

1939 – Mayor Julio V. Pacana started the constructed of the new Municipal Hall on the portion of the sprawling lot where the Casa Real once stood. He died a month before the building was finished.

1940 – Vice Mayor Roque C. Chaves was appointed by Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon to succeed the late Mayor Pacana. Mrs. Patricia Mercado-Velez, the first elected lady municipal councilor of Cagayan, became the vice mayor, another historic political feat in Cagayan. Both inaugurated the new Municipal Hall on Aug. 26, 1940.

1942 – The Municipal Hall was bombed during World War II and was damaged. It was rebuilt immediately after the war.

1950  –  In June 15, at exactly 11:30 am in Malacanan Palace, President Elpidio Quirino signed into law, RA 521, “The City Charter of Cagayan de Oro”  in the presence of Rep. Emmanauel Pelaez, author of the cityhood bill, House Speaker Eugenio Perez, Misamis Oriental Gov.Paciencio Ysalina, Cagayan Municipal Mayor Maximo Suniel and other prominent Kagay-anons. The new city was given a new name: Cagayan de Oro.

Immediately after RA 521 was signed, Municipal Mayor Suniel was sworn into office by President Quirino as the new city mayor of Cagayan de Oro.

1954 – Atty. Justiniano R. Borja was appointed by President Ramon Magsaysay as city mayor in 1954, and months later, he won the mayoral elections and became the first elected mayor of Cagayan de Oro City.

1964 – Mayor Justiniano R. Borja died in Oct. 3 while on an official trip to Manila. His body was laid in state in City Hall where thousands of his constituents paid their last respects.

1983  –  In Sept. 22, the City Council passed Ordinance No. 1679, changing the name of City Hall to “Benigno S. Aquino Hall of Justice.” It housed the offices of the City Fiscal, the City Register of Deeds, the Office of the City Building Official and the City Courts.

1998  –  the newly elected City Mayor, Vicente Y. Emano held office at the Benigno S. Aquino Hall of Justice. The building is now known as the “City Executive House.”

1999  –  the Cagayan de Oro Historical and Cultural Commission unveiled a local historical marker at the City Executive House to commemorate the centennial of the Fiesta Nacional and the first hoisting of the Philippine tricolor in Cagayan de Misamis. The descendants of the first local officials of the Aguinaldo revolutionary government and the heroes of the 1900 – 1901 war were the guests in this special event.

2015 – the National Historical Commission of the Philippines installed a historical marker in front of City Hall to commemorate the Jan. 10,1899 first hoisting of the Philippine flag on this site and the first celebration of the Philippine Independence.