The joy of doing research

A. Paulita Roa

I AM thankful to God that as a graduate student in archaeology at the University of the Philippines in Diliman, I have the great opportunity to read the books that helped broaden my knowledge on the histories of Cagayan de Oro, Misamis Oriental and the Philippines as a whole. I found this treasure trove at the UP Main Library and the Solheim Library at the Archaeological Studies Program. I was able to share most of my researches in this weekly column that I have been writing for the past six years and my papers are also available in our small research center at the Cagayan de Oro City Museum.

This really is an answered prayer for me for I recall that when I first sat as a member of the Cagayan de Oro Historical and Cultural Commission in 1998, there was a big lack of books and research materials on the history and culture of our city. In fact, to my disappointment,the Kagayha-an legend was then considered by many as part of local history. This led to many cultural misinterpretations about our identity as Kagay-anons as people thought that we were a product of the Manobo and Maranao cultures based on that legend.

The source materials that are available to me in UP has given me a rich data from numerous scholarly disciplines like Archaeology, Anthropology, History, Geology, Geography and Linguistics. Each of which presents its findings and facts of which my researches are based.

Research is work and a joy to me. I remember what it was like to sit in a very cold room of the microfilm section at the UP main library, reading a century old book about Cagayan. I sat there for over an hour, fascinated by what I read only to realize later that my hands and feet were stone cold. But then, this research became a two-part article about an American couple’s 1900 visit to Cagayan at the height of the Philippine-American war.

Sometimes, I feel like a treasure hunter that struck gold when I found a book that described the gold taken from the Cagayan River in 1880. Or when I read about a British sea captain who came to town in the mid 1700s and described the place and the people. That the town was enclosed with a fort–this was the Fuerza Real de San Jose or the Royal fort of St. Joseph. Sadly, this stone fort was demolished over a century later by the sheer stupidity of a Spanish military governor who then used the stones to paved the streets of the town.

It is very important to be diligent in doing historical research for this is all about facts–nothing but plain facts.Take for example my quest to know the exact name of the pre-war monument in Divisoria that has been alternately known as the Andres Bonifacio and the Balintawak Monument. However, of all all the monuments in that area, this one has no name of Bonifacio written in it. It just had the same generic pose similar to all known Bonifacio monuments across the country. There is a Spanish dedication written in the frontispiece that says “El pueblo a sus heroes.” In English, it means “From the town to its heroes.” Heroes? I heard it a long time ago that the bones of those who died in the Battle of Agusan Hill were buried there. But again, there are no names or any other information that are found in this monument.

Then, one day, I found a photocopy of a 1965 Manila Times article on Apolinar Velez y Ramos written by Sol Gwekoh. I finally had the answer that I was looking for! In this article, it was mentioned that in 1931, when Velez was the Municipal Mayor of Cagayan, he erected the the Cry of Freedom monument in memory of his comrades-in-arms. He ordered the transfer of the bones of the soldiers who died in the 1900 Battle of Agusan Hill to be reburied inside this monument. A small door found at the back of this monument confirmed this fact.

But why did Velez choose the statue that is believed by many to be that of Bonifacio? I read and reread the book of historian Filomeno M. Bautista about the 1900-1901 Philippine-American War in Misamis province hoping to find an answer to this conundrum, and I did! I believed that this statue represents the majority of those who were killed in that battle who were macheteros or soldiers belonging to the bolo battalion. This monument is the first and the oldest one dedicated to our local heroes and has served as their final resting place.

Personally, doing research on the cultural heritage of our city fascinates and fulfills me no end. It is a kind of work that requires patience, perseverance, meticulousness, and sometimes discernment. There is also an element of surprise when I find new data about the city or a local personage that I have not read nor heard before.

Tracking down sources and references can be exhaustive at times. But in the end, when I am able to gather and establish all the facts and collate them to a known historical event or period, a great sense of fulfillment comes in knowing that my research work can help students and researchers alike who would like to study our past. By doing so, I believe that we will come to know and be proud of who we are and then, become better Filipinos.