“Tomorrow can be a wonderful age. Our scientists today are opening the doors of the Space Age to achievements that will benefit our children and generations to come. The Tomorrowland attractions have been designed to give you an opportunity to participate in adventures that are a living blueprint of our future.” –Walt Disney

It took all of one month for us to finally experience the new Atmos Dolby theatre sound system that sets the new Limketkai Cinemas apart from all the rest but it was worth the wait.

New comfy numbered chairs

Sure, there are many good new things about the refurbished cinemas: seats are bigger, better and more comfy, with even provisions for persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the first row. Aircon is just fine, just enough to fend off the stifling summer heat without freezing your butt off and the screen is okay. Amenities like comfort rooms for every cinema are standard and the seat layout have been upgraded to one level in keeping with the current global cinema trends.

Chair for PWDs

But it’s the Atmos Dolby system which really sets the new Limketkai cinemas apart. Limketkai Marketing Development Officer Tiny Maagad actually invited us to view the new cinemas (1 & 2, that is. 3 & 4 are still undergoing renovation) as early as 24 April or a few days after they re-opened to the public but said we only got to see the facilities since she said would invite us to experience viewing a movie only when one formatted in the Atmos Dolby system was available.

The previous ones screened during the opening were formatted in Dolby 7.1 and were already very good but she said she preferred to have us experience the real Atmos Dolby formatted films once they became available.

Finally, we got our chance last Thursday, 28 May at Limketkai Cinema 1 where I joined five members of the CDO Bloggers invited by Tiny to view the Disney movie “Tomorrowland” starring George Clooney and taglined “Imagine a Place Where Nothing is Impossible.” Indeed, it seemed destined to be a most appropriate choice to showcase what is now the cutting edge in cinema audiology.

Limketkai Mall Marketing Development Officer Tiny Maagad and Taters Manager Benjo Acedera pose for postering with some members of the CDO Bloggers outside Limketkai Cinema 1 (photo by Mike Baños)

After arming ourselves with colas and a huge bag of popcorn courtesy of Taters Manager Benjo Acedera, we proceeded inside where we were ticketed from seats K16 to 24. Yes,Virginia, no needless searching for seats here, the usher will guide you to the exact seat reserved by your ticket which incidentally you can buy offsite at their central ticketing office on the second floor.

The Dolby Atmos system has been creating the aural equivalent of 3D in theatres around the world since June 2012. Perhaps we don’t realize how important audio is to experiencing to a film until you actually experience it.

Limketkai Cinema ticket office

The Promenade Mall in Greenhills, San Juan became the first Dolby Atmos cinema in the country when it opened in 2013 and we’re happy Limketkai Cinema is not so far behind and again has another given Cagayan de Oro another first in Mindanao.

The Dolby Atmos system places speakers above the audience and allows film makers to locate sound in a 3D space. The older Dolby 5.1 and 7.1 systems created the illusion of “sense surround” with a speaker based system that ran the sound along a series of speakers,

Dolby ATMOS

In contrast, Atmos, creates the illusion of  a helicopter flying overhead by putting the sound at a point in a 3D space where the person, depending on where he’s seated in the theatre, hears the sound from the appropriate speaker.

Atmos sounds like water is falling on a canopy above you in a scene with a storm. When something goes whizzing by your ears it “feels” like it’s actually happening inside the theatre. With “Tomorrowland”, Atmos actually puts you aurally into the middle of the action of what you’re visually seeing on the screen.

New Limketkai cinema interiors

Dolby Atmos technology attains this “immersion in sound” by allowing up to 128 audio tracks plus associated pan metadata to be distributed throughout the theatre for optimal, dynamic rendering to loudspeakers based on the theater’s particular capabilities.

Technically speaking, Dolby Atmos enables the re-recording mixer using a Pro Tools plugin or a Dolby Atmos equipped large format audio mixing console, to designate a particular location in the theater, as a three-dimensional placement, where each dynamic sound source should seem to be coming from.

Sounds that are not dynamically moving, such as ambient sounds and center dialogues, are still separately pre-mixed in a traditional multichannel format. During playback, each theater’s Dolby Atmos system renders all dynamic sounds, from the pan metadata, in real-time to make it seem like each sound is coming from its designated spot, with respect to the speakers present in the target theater.

Traditional multi-channel technology merely burns the audio tracks into a fixed number of channels during post-production. This has constrained the re-recording mixer to make assumptions about the playback environment that may not necessarily apply to a particular theatre, in the sense that its capabilities differ from the mixing stage where the mixer was working.

In addition to playing back a standard 5.1 or 7.1 mix using loudspeakers grouped into arrays, the Dolby Atmos system can also give each loudspeaker its own unique feed based on its exact location, thereby enabling many new front, surround, and even ceiling-mounted height channels for the precise panning of select sounds such as a helicopter or rain.

Good sound is really important for cinema-goers these days. You don’t enjoy your movie if there’s something wrong with the sound. That’s why Dolby has sought to optimize every stage, from the creative idea to post production and exhibition, through Dolby Atmos.

New Limketkai Cinema Escalators

As Dolby’s tagline puts it, Atmos could become “A whole new reason to go to the movies”.

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(In commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the City Charter of Cagayan de Oro, we are bringing back these stories on “Birthing the City”)

Did you know our pre-Spanish Kagay-anon ancestors once had their own version of the famous Madison Square Garden? Present-day Kagay-anons will be proud of the fact that they share a common bond with their 15th century forefathers-they all have, at one time or another, taken a stroll along our local square.

Old Gaston Park (photo by Carlos Neri Arce)

Our square was once one of these things: an arena similar to Blasco Ibañez’s Blood and Sand epic, a baseball park, a military camp, a place of Catholic worship, a battlefield, and a dreaded execution site. It is now a lovers lane, a place for evening meditation, a jogger’s delight, and a place where a royal prince fell in love with a Moro princess-thus giving the town its name, Cagayan.

If a tape recorder were available during these different eras, we would be able to hear the different events that transpired at the Square. The “hisses”, the “boos”, the thunderous ovations, the sobs, the laughter, the “vivas!”, the groans of deep pain, the religious hymns. What a delight it would have been to be able to “hear” history in the making!

During the pre-Spanish era, the Square was a fortified place where the royal family of Cagayan lived. It was here where the Higaonon chieftain, Bagani, and the Maranaw princess, Bai Lawanen, met and fell in love at first sight. The legend dwells on the shame the loving pair brought on their tribes-a shame, locally translated as kagayha-an. Voila! The settlement finally had a name!

Then the Spaniards came. As usual, the fair-skinned colonizers started bastardizing the local names of places. Finding “Kagayha-an” a tongue-twister, the kastilaloys chose the sexy-sounding “Cagayan.” The name has stuck to this day.

Now when you think Spanish, you usually think matador. The Spaniards, naturally, influenced our fashion, manners, our religious beliefs, our culture, and our hobbies. The most popular sport during that era was the Juego de Toro. Not the toro-toro some present Pinoys enjoy but the real thing! A bullfight during those days drew in the crowds from far and wide. The Square was the arena. A local, Bernardino Daang, was acclaimed the best Pinoy matador. He was said to be agile in his movements, swift in his passes. What a glorious sight the Square was then! Oles! and Bravos! literally filled the air.

During our first encounter with the American forces, the fight for freedom saw Filipino bolos and spears matching the American rifles. The Pinoys lost the fight but the gallant defenders won the respect of the enemy. The Square witnessed the clash of weapons and the cries of the dying.

There were no gas chambers or “hot seat” during the early American occupation. Criminals, mostly bandits, were executed by public hanging. The Square saw hundreds die. The crowd-drawer was the execution of the notorious Balodong, the outlaw. His life and exploits were as savage as America’s infamous Dillinger.

Just before World War I (i.e., 1914-1918), the Square became the local afficionados’ diamond – much like the World Series playing field. Winning teams included: Smith Bell, Constabulary, Government Employees, Central and High School. They played real baseball then, not kid stuff. A familiar sight during such games was the famous “Cracker Jack”, a junk food similar to the present-day popcorn.

Kagay-anon volunteers for overseas duty -the National Guard- trained at the Square during World War I, prior to their assignment to the Middle East. The 1918 Epidemic of influenza claimed a heavy toll among the volunteers. Nevertheless, the survivors were able to embark on the USS Liscom with their American officers for Camp Claudio at Baclaran.

During the pre-war years, on the evening of the Feast of Corpus Christi, altars were built around the Square. Believers visited each altar with deep reverence. Hymn-singing devotees were a common sight during these festivities.

Before the Second World War, the Square was transformed into an aesthetically landscaped park. It served as the town’s playground. The estate belonged to the provincial government, but after the war, it was deeded to the municipal government.

Now, the Square- locally known as Gaston Park- stands proudly as a mute witness to Cagayan de Oro’s colorful past and glorious heritage. Lover’s lane, jogger’s delight, snatcher’s paradise, or haven for the homeless… Gaston Park may be all these today but what park isn’t? Gaston Park may have lost its past glamour just as the once-famous Luneta has, but both landmarks have HISTORY written all over them. Well can other parks beat that?

(A modern adaptation of an article by Dr. Blas Ch. Velez published in the 32nd Charter Day anniversary souvenir program of Cagayan de Oro City. Dr. Velez, a doctor of medicine (UST 1937) and a WWII veteran, was a man of many talents. He was the past president of the Misamis Oriental Medical Society,  Misamis Oriental High School Alumni Association, UST Medical Association, Cagayan de Oro Cultural and Historical Society and Apovel Enterprise, Inc. 

A barangay captain and member of the Cagayan de Oro Rotary Club, the late doctor was a former municipal and city councilor of Cagayan de Oro before and after WWII. A 4th degree Knight of Columbus, he was a professor in legal medicine at the Xavier University College of Law).

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The Himugso: The Cagayan de Oro Film Festival celebrates some of the best independent films by Kagay-anons as the City of Golden Friendship marks its 65th Founding Anniversary on June 15, 2015.

HIMUGSO Film Festival

Curated this year by the prizewinning Cagayan de Oro filmmaker Joe Bacus, the festival treats moviegoers to the exciting post-colonial cinematic project of imagining Mindanao as a crucial place for waging peace.

The indie shorts selected for this first edition of the festival engages the community in dialogue about what it means to live – in various precarious ways – in our troubled island.

“We want Kagay-anons to appreciate these independently-produced short films  by Kagay-anon film makers capturing the city in the cinematic imagery,” said Mozart Pastrano, Himugso Film Festival Director and co-chair of the CTC Arts & Culture Committee.

Among them: Carmen, Tindog, En Pace, Tingki, Grasya, Bagabag, Wa Ko Kakita, Buhis Buhay, Sa Among Pag-uli and the prize-winning obra, The End of War.

The festival will run at the Centrio Mall’s cinema from 9-11AM on June 12 to 14, 2015. Entrance is  free on a first come-first served basis, although students of the DepEd’s Special Program in the Arts (SPA) will be given early-entry passes. At 11:15 -12:15 pm, film makers will field questions from the public in an Open Forum.

Himugso: The Cagayan de Oro Film Festival is organized by the Art and Culture Committee of the Cagayan de Oro City Tourism Council in partnership with Centrio Mall. Task Force Himugso is chaired by Eileen Canoy Escobar-San Juan, chairperson of the Cagayan de Oro City Tourism Council’s Events and Marketing & Promotions Committees,

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Himugso Heritage Feature:

Memories of the Oldest House in Cagayan de Oro:

El Case del Chino Ygua

By Mike Banos

(In commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the City Charter of Cagayan de Oro, we are bringing back these stories on “Birthing the City”)

The earliest Chinese recorded to have settled in Cagayan in 1863 was Sia Ygua who came from Amoy. Although Amoy (today Xiamen) was the exit port, most of the traveling Chinese came from the Yuegang and Fujian areas. In the case of Ygua, however, his native town was really Amoy.

Casa del Chino Igua

Sia Ygua established himself as a merchant in Cagayan. Later, in 1882, he built himself a big house on Calle del Mar using bricks he imported from China. The bricks were loaded aboard Chinese junks were they served as ballast for the long voyage.

In Cagayan, the bricks were unloaded on the banks of the Cagayan river. From this house, Sia Ygua built the Chinese family with the most number of descendants in Cagayan. Some of these branches were those of his grandsons from his son Sia Kiam, Sia Simon Velez and Sia Tonhio, all of whom distinguished themselves as hard working entrepreneurs and loyal supporters of the local Catholic church.

Later, Sia Ygua himself participated in the patriotic activities of Cagayan during the Philippine-American War. His house subsequently figured as a landmark for those historic events.

On April 7, 2000, the National Historical Institute of the Philippines recognized Sia Ygua’s patriotic contribution by installing a national historical marker at his house, today known as Casa del Chino Ygua.

(source; A Cagayan de Oro Ethnohistory Reader by Antonio J. Montalvan II)

published 2004

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The Brick House of Insik Ygua in del Mar-Victoria Streets

By Fr. Francisco Demetrio, S.J.

Insik Ygua, a native of Amoy, China, came to Cagayan towards the last quarter of the 19th century, about 1860.

He started out as a food vendor (perhaps also sold puto). He made friends with the Recollect priests of San Agustin church. Due to his industry, and the help given him by the fathers, he gradually amassed a fortune.

Like most Chinese who settled in Cagayan, he took active part in civic and public life. He was known for his good heartedness. It is said that when he died, practically everyone in Cagayan wore black.

After many years in Cagayan he returned to China and there got married. It seems that his wife remained in his native land. However, his children (Sia Tong Joo, Sia Simeon Velez) followed him to Cagayan where they settled down.

Insik Ygua built a brick house at del Mar-Victoria streets. It was said to be the second “balay nga bato’ or ‘house of stone’ in Cagayan. The bricks used in building the house where shipped from Amoy to Cagayan in two boatloads.

During the revolution, many Filipino soldiers died a violent death in this house, massacred by the Americans. The bodies were buried in the backyard. To appease the souls and save the inhabitants from disturbance, Insik Ygua turned their burial place into a temporary cockpit. The blood from the fighting cocks was believed to appease the restless souls.  Also, on All Souls Day, until quite lately (1971), candles were lighted along the house in memory of the dead soldiers.

Today the house is much smaller and lower than it used to be, due mainly to the ravages of the last war. It has been renovated and the brick walls glossed over with cement coating. Many passers by forget that it is perhaps the oldest existing house in Cagayan de Oro City.

The ground floor has been converted into the well known novelty store, Sia Bon Suan, which underlines the take-over of the old by the new.

(First published August 28, 1971 in Cagayan)

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If the old trees of Plaza Divisoria could talk, they would be busy regaling the crowds with tales of its storied past, and how it often played a major role in the city’s local history.

Plaza Divisoria circa 1962.

Plaza Divisoria was constructed in 1901 by Tirso Neri y Roa, a rich merchant who was then municipal mayor of Cagayan de Misamis, the old name of the city. Much of the site used for the plaza was donated by Neri to the town.

“The purpose of this plaza was to serve as a divider for the town. Divisoria is a Spanish word which means divider,” said local historian Dr. Antonio J. Montalvan II. “At that time, Cagayan de Misamis, as the town was then called, was continuously razed by big fires. So, in order to contain such kinds of conflagrations, Tirso Neri built this fire break known as Plaza Divisoria.”

However, due to its central location, Plaza Divisoria soon became the socio-political and cultural center of Cagayan de Misamis.

Oriental Bazar in Divisoria in the 1930s from the book of FIlomeno Bautista, Sr.

On September 10, 1916 it was the scene of a big parade celebrating the passage of the Jones Law, which granted a bicameral congress to the Philippine Commonwealth.

On June 19, 1917, the patriot Porfirio Chaves and his wife Fausta Vamenta turned over one of the earliest monuments in the country of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal which still graces the center of the plaza.

To the east is the old monument to Andres Bonifacio, where the bones of local revolutionaries who died in the Battle of Agusan Hill on May 14, 1900 were once interred.

At the center of the old plaza used to be a structure known to all Kagay-anons as the Kiosko (and earlier, the Tribuna). In the 1950s, people gathered here for important social and cultural occasions, such as the annual celebration of National Heroes Day. By the 1960s, people were regularly gathering in the area which is now occupied by the Cagayan de Oro Tourist Assistance Center to discuss the burning issues of the day.

The old Kiosko was previously known as the Tribuna. No one knows where its two guardian lions ended up to this day.

This group of residents became what is now known to old-timers as “The Plazans” and included many of Cagayan de Oro’s finest like Councilor Pio Roa, Yo Amon Fuentes, Dr. Jose Montalvan, Jesus Roa, Anastacio Gabor, Ramon Echem, former Governor Paciencio Ysalina, Aquilino Pimentel, Sr., Tawag ng Tanghalan National Champions Tata Neri and Rizal “Boy” Ortega, the late police chief Melo Esguerra, Carlos Yamut, and former RP Ambassador to the US Raul Ch. Rabe, to mention a few.

The “Kiosko” was for a time replaced by the  “Bandstand” built by City Mayor Justiniano “Tiñing” Borja in the 60s, who also restored the central significance of Plaza Divisoria by building another structure, known to Kagay-anons as the “Ampi” (for amphitheater).

“All Philippine presidents who came to town, addressed the people of  Cagayan de Oro in Plaza Divisoria,” Montalvan recalls. “So in a sense, this is the Plaza Miranda of Cagayan de Oro.”

Gen. Emilio Aguinaldo visited Cagayan de Misamis on Oct. 5, 1924 (courtesy of Carmen Almendrala Torres)

Borja’s Bandstand has in turn been replaced by the “Kiosko Kagawasan”, built by the past administration of Mayor Vicente Y. Emano. It recalls the architecture of the original Kiosko sans the skylight and the two lions which remain missing to this day.

During the last term of the past administration, the Plaza underwent a major facelift. Besides the band stand’s replacement with the new Kiosko Kagawasan, the “ampi” also underwent a similar renovation, which thankfully left it in better shape than it was before, now it is the new home of Police Station 1 or the OKK (Operation Kahusay ug Kalinaw). The old OKK has been demolished to give way to the better looking Cagayan de Oro Tourist Assistance Center” and two public toilets were erected in an effort to stop the Plaza from degenerating into a public toilet. Unfortunately, the old Amphi was demolished during the previous administration and never replaced.

Calle Mindanao looking south (present-day Tiano Bros. St.) The building on the right was the old Municipio which came about after the old Casa Real was demolished after 1910. Cagayan de Misamis actually had no municipio. Casa Real where the present city hall is now was the residence of the Gobernadorcillo. But in the shift to the American regime, the Casa Real became the office of the provincial governor. So there was no building for the town mayor. When Apolinar Velez was governor, he proposed that the Casa Real be demolished and the property be ceded from the province to the town. Hence, a municipio was built along Divisoria, where the Veterans Bank is now. That was the site of the 1950 Casino of Mr. Anastacio Gabor..

There’s also been mixed reactions to other “improvements” such as the controversial lights which will lighting up what used to be a dimly lit plaza, have also been lambasted for its “barriotic” or garish looks. There’s the controversial Masonic monument crowding a section of the fire break, as well as an unfinished section of the boulevard started by former Mayor Constantino Jaraula but not completed by his successors.

“Perhaps a better way of regarding Divisoria and its future is in order now,” Montalvan said. “We now have a national law in place, RA 10066, the National Cultural Heritage Law. Government is now capable of declaring sites and landmarks so that these can be protected. There is one classification there called the Heritage Zone that I think is the most appropriate way of ensuring the future of Divisoria. Soon we shall pass from this world. But what assurance do we leave behind?”

Divisoria circa 1939 showing Cagayan de Oro Hotel owned by the Bautista-Avancena family. This photo was taken in 1939 and is found in the book of Filomeno Bautista Sr., “Glimpses of Mindanao.” The name precedes the name of the city from its 1950s charter. Documents in the Archivo de la Unibersidad de Santo Tomas (AUST) show students from Cagayan enrolling in the Ateneo de Manila and the UST from 1890s and listing their place of origin as “Cagayan de Oro.” So there already was a tradition for such name.

Residents and visitors remain hopeful that, in time, these transient problems are resolved and that Plaza Divisoria with its fruit stands, monuments, benches and trees would be there for the next hundred years or so for their afternoon paseos, paradas and procesiones to mark important and historic occasions in this city’s history.

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(In commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the City Charter of Cagayan de Oro, we are bringing back these stories on “Birthing the City”)

Many people have tried to win recognition for what local historians claim was the only Katipunan-led revolt in Mindanao at the time of the Cry of Balintawak in 1896, but to this day, the cloak of censorship thrown by Spanish authorities over the so-called Calaganan Mutiny has effectively stifled efforts to put it in its rightful place of honor in the annals of the Philippine Revolution against Spain.

Map of Misamis tracing the path of the Calaganan Mutiny (photo by Elson Elizaga).

Although  it remains a little known fact to this day,  Misamis  was the  only  region  which actively  joined  the Katipunan  revolt against  Spain in 1896.  It may have occurred over 100 years ago but re-opening the archives on this forgotten chapter of the country’s history could change the way the present Philippine flag looks like. Local historians believe government should fund further research into determining if there is a need to makeover the sun in the Philippine flag with nine instead of eight rays.

Every grade school student in the country is taught how the eight rays of the sun in the Philippine tricolor represent the eight provinces in Luzon which first rose in revolt against the Spaniards in 1896.

But Cagayan de Oro historian Antonio J. Montalvan II says existing historical sources indicate there was one other Katipunan-led revolt in the islands which occurred during that same period in 1896 which has not been recognized by Filipino historians.

Formation of Voluntarios who were made up of Cagay-anon volunteers led by local hero Apolinar Velez who routed the Disciplarios in Sta. Ana, Tagoloan with the help of Spanish soldiers.

The Calaganan Mutiny is detailed in the letters of   Vicente Elio y Sanchez of Camiguin to the Manila-based Spanish newspaper “La Oceania Española” and two other historical sources but has never been linked to the First Cry of Balintawak led by Andres Bonifacio. Mr. Montalvan believes Mr. Elio’s letters never got past Spanish censors anxious to douse support for the revolution which had broken out in Luzon. Mr. Elio was a classmate of Dr. Jose Rizal at the Ateneo de Manila.

The mutiny exploded in September 29, 1896 among the so-called “Disciplinarios” or conscripts consisting mostly of convicts from Luzon, who were pressed into battle against the Moros in Lanao.

The fortress Fuerza Real de la Nueva Victoria in Calaganan (present day Balo-i, Lanao del Norte) was ransacked by the Disciplinarios on Sept. 29, 1896 to start the only Katipunan-led revolt in Mindanao.

In late August of 1896, the Katipunan revolution against Spain broke out in Luzon. Exactly a month after, or September 29, 1896, a group of Filipinos from Luzon who were deported to the Spanish fort Fuerza Real de la Nueva Victoria in Calaganan (present day Balo-i, Lanao del Norte)  for training in military discipline to fight against the Moros of Lanao, mutinied against their Spanish superiors upon receiving instructions from the Katipunan in Manila. They raided the Spanish armory and proceeded to Cagayan de Misamis to attack the town, being joined by some Moros.

On the way, they ransacked convents and homes of Spanish peninsulars. However, a joint force of Spanish soldiers and Filipino volunteers repulsed them in Sta. Ana, Tagoloan. From Cagayan, they proceeded to Sumilao, Bukidnon where they were joined by a band of 50 Higa-onons. They next attacked the Tercio Civiloutpost in Balingasag, and raided the outpost of Gingoog on January 1897.

Close up of same map, tracing the path of the Calaganan Mutiny.

By that time, news of Rizal’s execution had reached Cagayan and Misamis, and this further stoked the anger of the local Katipuneros. It took the Spanish gunboat Mariveles, recalled from the Tercio Distrito de Surigao, to finally subdue the resistance in Gingoog. This was the only known Katipunan revolt in the entire Mindanao.

What is especially unique about this particular mutiny is that besides happening at about the same time as the Katipunan revolt in Luzon, there appears to be a direct link between it and the Katipunan revolt in the person of Pio Valenzuela, a cousin of the amazon warrior Arcadia Valenzuela of Lapasan, Cagayan de Misamis (as Cagayan de Oro was then known) who visited Mindanao during this period (ostensibly on instructions from Andres Bonifacio himself!)  to instigate a similar revolt in Mindanao.

Pio Valenzuela was the trusted aide dispatched by Andres Bonifacio to foment a Katipunan-led rebellion in Mindanao.

Mr. Montalvan maintains how Augustinian Recollect chronicles confirm that this revolt was  in fact  instigated by a communication from Katipuneros in Luzon, making Mindanao  the ninth province to join the Katipunan revolt, albeit not included in the eight rays of the sun in  the  Philippine  flag which represent the eight provinces which  first  rose  against Spanish tyranny.

“We have yet to establish beyond a reasonable doubt the direct link between the Katipunan revolt in Luzon and the Calagan Mutiny, but there are extant sources which appear to indicate that such a link did exist, and that Pio Valenzuela did indeed come to Mindanao on the instructions of Andres Bonifacio to foment a revolt against the Spaniards,” Mr. Montalvan said.

Another unique aspect of the revolt was that it was participated in by Mindanao’s tri-people: the Christian immigrants, the indigenous natives in the person of Higaonons from Bukidnon, and a group of Moros from Lanao, making it not only a Katipunan revolt, but one in which all three of Mindanao’s tri-people was represented.

Women and children took shelter in the St. Augustine Church while the menfolk joined the Spanish soldiers as Voluntarios to stop the incoming force of Disciplinarios from Calaganan.

“Should a direct link be established between Bonifacio’s Katipunan revolt in Luzon and the Calaganan Mutiny, then the people of Mindanao can rightfully petition the national government to add a ninth ray to the sun in the Philippine flag,” Mr. Montalvan said.

What needs to be done at this point is to verify primary sources such as the Consular Letters of the French Embassy in Manila to Paris where the Calaganan Mutiny is described in detail, Montalvan added.

The letters are now in the archives of the National Museum in Manila, as are other extant documents like the historical account of the Jesuit historian Pablo Pastells in which the Calaganan Mutiny is also described in detail.

(Postscript: It has been almost 10 years since this story was published and as far as the author knows, there has been no further studies conducted in pursuit of this topic)

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For the maiden celebration of Himugso on June 12-15, 2015, Seda Centrio offers a staycation that guests can avail of until the City Fiesta Month of August in time for the Higalaay Kagay-an Festival and onwards until December 30, 2015.

Seda Centrio Himugso Experience

Those wishing to avail of the special offer need only to purchase gift certificates during the June 12-15, 2015 Himugso period at the Seda Centrio booth at Centrio Mall or at the hotel lobby in the 4th floor.

The Himugso promo is available on June 12-15 only but guests can choose to stay at the hotel anytime from June 12 to December 30, 2015.

 The discounted Himugso package rate includes overnight accommodations for 2 in a Deluxe Room with breakfast at only PhP 2,750.00 nett per night. On top of that, the package also entitles the guests to free use of the pool and gym, and complimentary wi-fi and bottled water in their rooms.

They can also avail of VIP seats at the Himugso Cagayan de Oro Film Festival at Centrio Mall Cinema 2 on June 12-15 and free walking and city tours, and free entrance to the Cagayan de Oro city’s four museums (subject to availability/prior reservations needed at the Front Desk) during the city’s 65th Charter Day on June 15. However, these perks can only be availed of during the Himugso period on June 12 – 15, 2015.  

“Seda Centrio’s Himugso promo would allow guests, especially for those from out-of-town, to already book their rooms at the discounted Himugso rate also for the Higalaay Kagay-an Fiesta Festival of Cagayan de Oro in August,” said Carol V. Valdez, Seda Centrio director of sales. “Take note that June 12-15, 2015 is a four-day long weekend which is happening only in Cagayan de Oro because of the confluence of the weekend with the June 12 Independence Day and June 15 Charter Day celebrations.”

Ms. Valdez also pointed that Cagayan de Oro City would also be enjoying two long weekends in August this year: August 21-23 and August 28-31, when many of the fiesta events are scheduled to happen.

In addition to the room package, Seda Centrio is also offering a Himugso “3+11” Misto Dinner Promo: for every 3 buffet dinner gift certificates @ PhP 550 each, the buyer will get 1 additional certificate free.  These vouchers can be used from Wednesdays to Saturdays from June 12 until August 31, 2015.

For further inquiries, please call Seda Centrio, (088) 323 8888, 0917 577 5910 or email .

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(We are bringing back stories of the olden days of Cagayan de Oro in commemoration of the 65th Charter Day Anniversary of its founding)

Most people leave home when they go off to college, or after graduation, in search of a job, or when one marries somebody from another town/city or country. But what exactly is “home”?

Home is that magical place where I feel that I belong. It is where my forbears are buried, and where my mother and most of my family, relatives and close friends still live. It is that special place where even if I leave its shores, I will still feel welcome when I come back no matter how long I have been away.

Porfirio Chaves and wife Fausta Vamenta Chaves in Paris Tour 1914

And for me, that magical, special place is no other than Cagayan de Oro City! My city Cagayan de Oro did not acquire that moniker for nothing. There is a fable attached to the name.

Cagayan de Oro literally means “city of gold”. The gold was rumored to be in the underwater cave by the river along the original church which is now the St. Augustine’s Cathedral. Whether gold has really been found is subject to conjecture but anyone who has ever been to the city always leaves it with golden memories of the wonderful people that inhabit the place.

A friend who works at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., Marylou Gomez, confided to me that her brief 10 month stay in Cagayan, teaching a Grade V class at XU’s grade school was among the happiest times of her life.

Three other friends, high school classmates of mine at Lourdes College (LC) – Vicky Enriquez Agaab, Elizabeth Domingo-Tan and Rosemarie Quiepo-Flores, recently made a nostalgic trip there during a class reunion and they happily retraced the steps of their girlhood – walking to the Cathedral from the LC dorm, then back to Divisoria & to XU’s Immaculate Conception Chapel. They even went to Cogon market by themselves, accompanied by Elizabeth’s doting husband, in search of tira-tira and binaki. They hope to go back again for our class’ 50th reunion.

Its People

Josefa Chaves y Abejuela with Silvino Maestrado, Misamis Congressmen from 1928-1931

Years ago, almost everybody in town was related, either by blood or by marriage. They belonged to the big clans of Neri, Chaves, Roa, Velez, Abejuela, Gabor, Fernandez, etc. New people came in when scions of these original families who had studied in Manila met, then ended up marrying young men from other parts of the country or when men in government service got assigned to Cagayan de Oro and married local belles.

Josefa Chaves y Abejuela with Silvino Maestrado, Misamis Congressmen from 1928-1931

The city then was also a popular destination for rich students from Manila, Bacolod, Cebu & other towns because Ateneo de Cagayan (now Xavier University) had a reputation for its firm discipline and good education. Several of these young men married into local families so you have family names now in Cagayan de Oro like de la Fuente, Falcon, Ferrer, Arguelles, etc. Other settlers and transplants came from Bohol (Borja, Luminarias, Enerio, Mosqueda, Balaba), Cebu (Canoy, Dongallo, Sestoso), Ilocos (Soriano, Garcia, Cabading), Gingoog (Lugod, Fernandez), Bukidnon (Fortich), Antique (Xavier, Noble), Ozamiz (Tamparong, Gorospe), Ormoc (Muñoz), Capiz (Torres, Quimpo), Marikina (Cruz), Camiguin (Adaza, Bollozos, Paderanga, Quiblat, Along, Dugenio, Salcedo, Magto, etc.) . Still others were employees of firms like Tabacalera, Soriano, San Miguel and Menzi [and were mostly of Spanish descent like Messrs. Puyo, Aguirre, Rodriguez, Larrabaster] or those assigned in the Army or PC Camps (Limena, Venadas, Sontillano, Saniel, Elloso, Clavano, etc.) or government offices like the Bureau of Lands, Agriculture, etc. (Messrs. Fernando Torres andCastillo were young graduates [UP Los Banos] when they first came to the city and ended up marrying into local families; and government doctors (Drs. Zamora, Almonte, Montenegro, Macaranas, Dayrit, Mejia, etc.) or Del Monte executives/employees (Frias, Tugot, Balbuena, Pelaez, Mejia, etc.).

The Spanish American War and WW II also saw the influx of G.I.’s who chose to stay because they had married local belles – like John Charles Chaloner (direct descendants of whom count the Gaanes , Buhays & Casiños) and George Willkom (from that single American from Ohio descended about 500 Willkoms), Larsen (Cepedas), Paagen (Saberolas).

Velez Family

As the world beckoned, some of the native-born Cagay-anons ventured to other climes in search of adventure and “outsiders”or “newcomers” from other parts of the country came in to take their place when the city became one of the major regional centers of the Philippines. As a result of said regionalization more and more trekked to the city to man banks, regional offices and to establish businesses. The city had so welcomed them with open arms that when it was time to transfer to other branches, many of these managers and heads of offices chose to quit their jobs rather than relocate elsewhere. That’s how much they loved and felt “at home” in their newly adopted city.

VIcente Neri San Jose and wife Vicenta Fernandez, founders of Ang Katarungan newspaper

Thus now, “Cagayanons” are categorized as the native born, those who married into local families, the transplanted merchants, businessmen and professionals who plied their trade here or practiced their professions in their new-found city and the children born into families who emigrated to the city before or during the war or during the business or regionalization boom in the 80’s. (posted by The MINDANAO CURRENT @ 4:01 PM, reprinted with the permission of the author)

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(We are bringing back stories of the olden days of Cagayan de Oro in commemoration of the 65th Charter Day Anniversary of its founding)

Rizal Monument at Plaza Divisoria before WW2

When I was growing up, the town had few cars. The few taxicabs in town under the “Ang Sidlak” name was owned/operated by Rodrigo Lim. Jeepneys plied the Pier & Patag routes and “tartanillas” were very much in vogue. But most people walked to school or to their jobs. Life was so slow and people did not have to rush. It seemed that we could walk to most places: to market, to church, to the shopping areas which then was centered mostly in Divisoria, Del Mar (now Don Apolinar Velez) & Real (Gen. Nicolas Capistrano) streets.

Plaza Divisoria in the 1960s

People rode only when they had to catch the boat at the Macabalan Pier, or the plane at Lumbia airport. I remember walking to school from our house in Del Mar Street. I had to pass by the old bowling alley owned by the Ematas, the old China Restaurant (Ongs) & farther ahead, the Yee’s Restaurant which is still there, Bina Tan Grocery, Our Store, one of the very first educational stores run by the Mosqueda couple, the Velez Almacen owned by the couple Dodo & Chunching Velez, which carried silverware and glassware from Oceanic and other beautiful houseware and décor, another store with nice items owned by Fred Lee, Society Store(owned by the Sisons nee Puring Emata), which sold Gregg shoes,the finest clothing materials and the latest items from Manila, past Cagayan Grocery before I could reach Lourdes College.

Lourdes Academy

It was a leisurely walk past these stores brimming with items that to a young girl’s eyes were just so delightful. It was fun to window-shop each day on my way to school. Lourdes College was just about 2 blocks away from the St. Augustine’s Cathedral. The street then was lined with tall acacia trees that swayed from the breeze coming in from the river nearby and across the church was the major park in town, Gaston Park. Lest anyone forget, Gaston Park undertook a major facelift thru the efforts of the late Mayor Justiniano Borja who put in the lovely fountain, well-lit at night so that people could stroll and frolic in the park on warm, balmy nights. Said park is just one of his many enduring legacies to the city.

Its Places of Worship

My understanding is that St. Augustine’s Cathedral was built by Engr. Diego Imperio or under his supervision. I think it is a beautiful edifice – with perfect symmetry, beautiful stained glass windows and very nice chandeliers. When the church underwent a facelift years ago, I learned that some of the stained-glass panels were taken out and replaced by wrought-iron, probably, to let fresh air in. I personally think that those stained-glass pieces should be put back into the church. (Editor’s Note: The stained glass were restored years back).

St Teresa Dormitory 1920-1930

Nazareno Church along busy Lapasan was built thru the efforts of the Floirendos and had as its parish priest for many, many years, Fr. Cicero Cebrero, S.J. The church still stands on the same spot, now surrounded by towering Gaisano stores. Another popular chapel was the Perpetual Help Chapel (now Fatima Chapel) along Del Mar St. maintained by St. Paul sisters who run one of the few stores in town that sell religious articles. Lately it has been the chosen venue of some weddings.

And in densely populated Nazareth district is the San Antonio de Padua Church that also underwent a major makeover, courtesy of Capt. Luciano Firmacion who spent for its entire renovation, his legacy to the residents of Nazareth. The old Aglipayan church was then along Del Mar St., on property donated by Nemesito Chavez. It has since moved to the back of its present site. Acacia trees also used to line the entire stretch of Del Mar. They were probably torn down when the sidewalks were built. I wonder if there could have been a way to save those majestic trees, now forever gone.

Recreational facilities

There were only 3 bowling alleys in town – the one along Luzon St.. (now J.R. Borja St.) operated by the Firmacions, the Emata-owned one on Del Mar St. (now Bank of PI) and the 2-lane one run by the Garcias somewhere near where Gaisano is.

Old Rivoli Theatre

On top of the Firmacion’s bowling lane was the night club “Monte Carlo” and the other nightspot across the other end of town, just after Puntod, was the “Taza De Oro”, owned by Feodor and  Nene Emata. That site, a lovely brick building, is now the YMCA.

The Cagayan de Oro Hotel owned by the Avanceña-Bautista Families circa 1939.

Another night club was the “El Retiro”. Young people took their dates to the following snack places – the“Casino” of Tito Ating Gabor, the only place in town where you could get Magnolia ice cream; the old & original La Playa, along the riverbank (where the City Social Hall now stands) owned by Pete Tan, known for the best burger in town; Hernando’s Hideaway owned by Tita Trining Pineda, named after her husband, Judge Hernando Pineda, that daily churned out fresh milk ice-cream and yummy homemade barquillos; Ferns Restaurant in Divisoria, and the only steakhouse in town, the Sirloin & Saddle owned by Phil and Nena RoaBalan.

Bakeries/Other Popular Stores

For our bakery needs, everyone went to either Ah Fat, Shanghai or Dalisay Bakeries. And who can forget the original hot pan de sal available at a small bakery at the pier. Students of Lourdes College congregated at the “Good Morning Store” (below Lola Charing Fabella’s house) for their delicious & salty “kiamoy” & shrimp crackers while the XU boys had “Macmang’s Store” where students went for snacks. (posted by The MINDANAO CURRENT @ 4:01 PM , reprinted with the permission of the author)

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(We are bringing back stories of the olden days of Cagayan de Oro in commemoration of the 65th Charter Day Anniversary of its founding)

Its Culinary Delights

My mother used to say that one way of sizing up a person is by knowing about the kind of food he/she enjoys since food is part and parcel of living well. It wasn’t until I left home that I realized that we have so many culinary delights, some of them peculiar only to Cagay-anons – like the much-touted “bihod” coming from that special fish known as “pigok”.

There’s the “binaki” that most people in the Philippines don’t even have an inkling of. Then there’s the fresh milk puto from the Soriano kitchen, the yemas, brazo de mercedes, sans rival and boat tarts that only Tita Gely Dayrit can make.

Sala de la Casa Real

There’s also the Elloso’s banana candies and the late Tita Flor Jaldon’s special coconut candies (not macaroons). From my mother’s kitchen, I learned to make “keseo” (white cheese), “budin” (bread pudding),“jalea” (pure mango jam) and fresh milk ice-cream churned from a hand-cranked ice cream maker or “garapinera”.

Who can forget the late Tita Luz Macaranas’ special ensaimadas, fresh lumpia and “masa podrida”, theCastanos’ “empanadas”, Lola Iling Fernandez’s pastillas de leche (also made from fresh carabao’s milk) and the “manticao” and “crema de fruta” recipes of the Neri sisters (Tita Perla and Tita Flor). Almost every family had “tsokolate” at breakfast & dinnertime made from their own backyard cacao trees.

Gaston Park Fountain

What about the “kayam”? I remember that my mother had a “suki” who would deliver cooked or boiled “kayam” to the house. I haven’t seen kayam for a long, long time now. And who can ever forget the “ginamos” made from “hipon” or little fish that come only once a year, usually the first day of February.

Lumbia Airport 1964

I wonder if other places in the country have as many delicacies such as the ones that Cagayan can boast of (except for Pampanga and Bacolod, of course).

Life in the Slow Lane

Old St Augustine Cathedral

My recollection about growing up in a small town is mostly about simple pleasures – walking to school, going to Patag golf course on Sundays with my parents along with other golfers and their families, to the beach on weekends either in Opol (with the Rabes and their Canoy relatives) or in Baloy (the original Neri enclave) with the Dayrits, Nobles and Eparwas.

Old Lourdes College

It was lazy summers spent in the company of visiting Manila cousins (the Pelaezes) who spent almost every summer vacation in Cagayan. Other happy memories were the joyrides with cousins Babe, Sonny, Inday, Gangging, Sweetpea and Charito Fortich, Gigi and Tetel Borja, Annabel Montalvan, and Jing, Lani and Beth Eparwa, and my brother, Boy.

Old Macabalan pier

We would go all over town, to the pier to buy hot “pan de sal” then end up at Lumbia to gaze at the stars and the city below, all the while singing Mitch Miller sing-a-long songs.

St Augustine Cathedral before WWII

All of these happened a long time ago but the memories live on and linger, like the notes of an old forgotten tune. Growing up in Cagayan meant being around a lot of relatives and other people whom you knew your entire life; where “everybody knew your name”, to borrow a phrase from Cheers. Although it was akin to living in a fishbowl, I wouldn’t trade it for anything else. These happy, cherished memories will carry me through life whatever may come my way. (posted by The MINDANAO CURRENT @ 4:01 PM , reprinted with the permission of the author)

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(We are bringing back stories of the olden days of Cagayan de Oro in commemoration of the 65th Charter Day Anniversary of its founding)

In the center of Wadhu’s Quality Store stands a 1931 NCR cash register, bought by the store’s founder by mail order from Sears & Roebuck in the United States 79 years ago. During the second world war, the owner wrapped it in grease and buried it in his backyard. After the war, he dug it up and it still serves the same store now run by his grandson Haresh.

The original 1931 NCR cash register still hard at work at Wadhu’s Quality Store. (photo courtesy of Dodong Wadhu)

That cash register is the living testimony of the traditions that has made Wadhu’s Quality Store Cagayan de Oro’s oldest surviving retail store, a tradition established by the store’s patriarch and carried on by the third generation which now runs it.

Seventy nine years ago, Wadhu Dharamdas Uttamchandani set up in Cagayan de Misamis (as Cagayan de Oro was then known) ‘Wadhu’s Home of Quality’ near Plaza Divisoria, the town’s social and commercial center.

Mr. Wadhu arrived in the Philippines as a 12-year old boy from India in 1924. He was employed at the Indian Bazaar owned by his uncle Nebhraj Ramchand Buhdrani in Zamboanga City for 12  years where he gained his basic knowledge and business savvy in the retail trade. In 1936, he felt he had enough seed money, contacts and experience to establish his own store in Iligan, but decided on Cagayan instead.

His thatched roof store, which featured items bought by mail order from Sears & Roebuck, was set amidst stores run by Japanese nationals near the Heroes de Cagayan monument. Divisoria was the Escolta of Cagayan in those days, and the nearby public market ensured the fledgling store flourished until World War II exploded.

“My father survived the war by bartering his goods for food and clothing,” said his son, Wadhu “Dodong” Jr. “He married my mom, Trinidad Babiera Valmores at Balingasag, Misamis Oriental in 1943 and had two children, myself and my sister Linda.”

Mr. Wadhu Dharamdas Uttamchandani (photo courtesy of Dodong Wadhu)

In 1946, “Mr. Wadhu” (as he was fondly called by friends and customers) reopened at a new location in Plaza Divisoria just across the public market, but moved to the next block after two years, where its present name, “Wadhu’s Quality Store” was first seen. The store moved to its present site in the corner of J.R. Borja and Pabayo streets when Mayor Justiniano Borja moved the city public market to the Cogon area in 1958.

“My dad didn’t want to be too close to the Cogon market where competition would be stiff but he also didn’t want to be too far from the former site in Divisoria and his regular customers,” Dodong explained.

In 1973, the elder Wadhu felt the younger generation was ready to take the reins of the business and turned over the store’s management to Dodong.

“The idea was to help infuse faster and newer approaches towards marketing and merchandising without changing the original concepts on which we made our reputation,” Dodong recalls. “We introduced new products catering to the tastes of the younger generation and terminated others which were slow moving.”

And not too soon. By 1975, retails giants Ororama and Gaisano came into the picture, forcing other stores to fold up due to the intense competition.

“We took this as an opportunity, a challenge to make our strategies competitive with the giants,” Dodong said. “I have always welcomed competition because it is the only way to serve the public with better service and cheaper prices.”

For instance, when more people from Butuan, Surigao, Bukidnon and Iligan began coming to Cagayan de Oro, Wadhu’s still multiplied its customers despite stiff competition from the bigger stores.

“Our overhead is not as large as the big ones, so we were able to adjust our prices and compete,” Dodong said. “Since we were also getting the same merchandise from the same suppliers, we were able to attract more customers with our lower prices without sacrificing service and quality.”

The 1990s brought even stiffer competition from malls like SM City and Limketkai Mall which featured a wide variety of stores and merchandise and attractive amenities like national food chains and cinemas all under one roof.

“We kept our loyal customers and even added more through our personalized service,” Dodong said. “Most of the sales girls in the big malls are hired on a casual basis and are no match for better paid and motivated sales staff of smaller stores who have better experience and training, not to mention knowing the customers on a first name basis.”

“Everyone is equally served and each person is attended to no matter how small their needs are,” he adds. “We train our sales people never to look down on anyone and treat them as regular adult customers regardless of age, gender or appearance.”

Some years ago, a shabbily dressed barefoot gentlemen wanted to buy an expensive watch. Sensing the sales clerk was at a loss on how to deal with him, Dodong stepped in to personally entertain him and he paid in cash.

“It was only a week later that I found out he was the owner of a big building which housed many stores in Bukidnon,” Dodong wryly recalls. “He told me ours was the third store he went to and the only one who gave him any attention.”

More recently, traders from Mainland China, Taiwan and Korea have swamped the city with low quality merchandise at very low prices. Together with the “ukay-ukay” vendors selling smuggled garments and shoes at rock bottom prices, they have crowded the city’s sidewalks and even areas fronting regular stores.

This was how the pioneering Wadhu’s Home of Quality looked like in the 1930s at its original site in Plaza Divisoria (photo courtesy of Dodong Wadhu)

Instead of caving in under the assault, Wadhu’s opened a new branch in the Carmen market area. It carries the same merchandise for which the main store has been known for such as watches, sporting goods, and related items. Eventually, that branch moved to the Robinson’s Big R Supermarket building at Limketkai Center where it is now managed by Dodong’s younger son John-John.

The third generation of Wadhus takes all the competition and changes in stride, having been born and raised in Cagayan de Oro under the tutelage of their father and grandfather. They remain confident the “Open Door” policy of the original Wadhu’s Home of Quality will see them through their next century (which is just around the corner) and beyond.

“We grew up in this store and we don’t see any reason to change how it looks or operates,” said the elder Haresh.  “Since my grandfather first started this store, he insisted that my Dad leave the store’s doors wide open so even people from the rural areas would not be shy to come in and window shop. They don’t feel pressured to buy something and can window shop as much as they like.”

“We will be celebrating our 80th anniversary come 2016 and we will be giving watches as a token of our appreciation,” said Dodong with a smile.

In the center of the store, Haresh rings up another sale in the NCR cash register. If the sale totals more than the P99.00 the machine is capable of calculating, he uses a small calculator. It looks like the old machine could easily outlive a dozen or so of its modern counterparts, just like the store it serves in the corner of J.R. Borja and Pabayo streets in Cagayan de Oro has done to many of its larger competitors.

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Kagay-an is a word that directly relates to the city’s culture, history and people, who call themselves Kagay-anons.

Cagayan has ALWAYS been pronounced by lumad Kagay-anons as Kagay-an. In fact, nobody says Kagayanon but Kagay-anon.

It is the historical original name of Cagayan de Oro, formerly known as Cagayan de Misamis. Even the original citizens of the capital town of the Segundo Partido de Misamis pronounced it Kagay-an, attesting to the timelessness of the name.

Historical documents prove Kagay-an was used to refer to Cagayan de Oro as early as 1571 (Fray San Francisco de San Antonio, 1738-1744 & de Loarca).

It is cited in the Olaging (chanted) epics of the Proto Northern Manobo (Cagayan de Oro’s proto people) describing Yumagmag Katiguman, wife of the hero’s elder brother Paumulaw as ‘Queen of Kagay-an, Queen of Lambagohon’ (Opeña, 1979)

Kagay has its origins in the Filipino word for river, and ostensibly refers to the riverine origin of the city. It is a word recognizable in most places in the Philippines as river (or something close or similar to it like the Northern Cordillera kagayan, the Ilokano karayan, or the Kapampangan kayayan).

A magnificant view of the Cagayan River by Carlo Antonio Romero. Often erroneously referred to as the “Cagayan de Oro” River, . Cartographers and historians alike refer to it as the “Cagayan River” and nowhere can a “Cagayan de Oro River” be found in legal documents and maps of Cagayan de Oro City.

According to some friends who are members of the Ancient Baybayin Scripts Network (a Yahoo Groups Forum) Dr. Lawrence A. Reid, researcher emeritus of the University of Hawaii’s Department of Linguistics and Richard Elkins, ethnic linguist on the Manobo and Tasaday, agree that Cagayan comes from the ancient word for “river.” Some sources say that the original word for river is kagay, which, when combined with -an (place) became kagay-an (river place).

You can read more about it at http://cagayandeoro.elizaga.net/Appendix/meaning-of-cagayan.html

Regardless of its origins, it has in fact evolved in time into Kagay-an, with a dash, or what is more technically known as a glottal stop. Mr. Elkins explains a glottal stop IS NOT a hypen.

The glottal stop simply indicates the phonetic spelling of the word.  You put a glottal stop when people pronounce it with a glottal stop. That’s why Kagay-an should be spelled with a glottal stop and a K instead of Cagayan, to differentiate it from Cagayan de Sulu or Cagayan Valley in the North.

Kagay-an is the one easily recognizable word Kagay-anons all over the world, all over the country, and anywhere in the city can recognize, so from the name alone, any Kagay-anon worth his salt can easily tell it refers to Cagayan de Oro.

Thus, the name Kagay-an facilitate easy name recall not only to Kagay-anons everywhere around the globe but to other Filipinos as well, without sacrificing its uniqueness as exclusively referring to Cagayan de Oro and not to other places with similar sounding names.    

A footnote on the name Cagayan de Oro before we end. This is often credited to the late Vice President Emmanuel Pelaez since he filed House Bill which was eventually signed into law as Republic Act No. 521 which President Elpidio Quirino signed into law on June 15, 1950 creating the City of Cagayan de Oro.

The Cagayan de Oro Hotel owned by the Avanceña-Bautista Families circa 1939.

However, without taking anything from the late statesman’s substantial contribution to the creation of the city, the name Cagayan de Oro actually antedates the city charter as proven by the existence of the Cagayan de Oro Hotel owned by the Bautista-Avaceña family a 1939 photo of which is found in the book of Filomeno Bautista Sr. “Glimpses of Mindanao.”

Local historian Antonio J. Montalvan II also cites documents in the Archivo de la Unibersidad de Santo Tomas(AUST) where students from then Cagayan de Misamis enrolled in the Ateneo de Manila and the UST from 1890s listed their place of origin as “Cagayan de Oro.

“So there already was a tradition for such name,” Montalvan notes.

Pedro Sa. Baculio

Not the least, not many Kagay-anons today are aware that while R.A. 521 was signed into law under the watch of then Misamis Congressman Maning Pelaez, he was actually following up on an earlier bill for the creation of “Cagayan de Oro” filed by the late Misamis Congressman Pedro Sa. Baculio of present day El Salvador City.

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Luigi Montanez, son of Jose & Pacita Dayrit-Montanez, and Priyanka Ray, daughter of Apurba K. Ray & Krishna Ray, were joined as husband and wife last May 9, 2015 in two ceremonies, the first of which was at the Cathedral of Christ the King in Atlanta, Georgia for their Catholic wedding, and then in a very colorful Hindu ceremony with a dinner-reception immediately following at the Callanwolde Fine Arts Center.

Church wedding

Immediate members of both families and close friends of the bride and groom were in attendance. The groom’s side of the family wore Filipiniana, with the males in barong and the ladies in various Filipino ternos. The bride’s family came in beautiful, richly-embroidered saris.

Hindu ceremony

Priyanka was gorgeous as she marched down the aisle to meet dashing groom Luigi. The latter’s father, Joe, beamed approvingly; mother Paching looked fabulous in an electric blue beaded terno.

Aunts of the groom, Vicky D. Mazzeo and Cecilia D. Lopez, were prettily attired in kimona outfits.

Uncles of Luigi, Emilio Dayrit, and Dr. Tony Dayrit, accompanied by wife Dr. Wilma Dayrit flew in from Los Angeles and Maryland, respectively. Other aunts Linda Fabella-Saguil came from Arizona with Marina Vasquez-Black of Templeton, California who flew in with Linda. The groom’s brother, Jerrick, stood as Best Man. Luigi’s cousins, Marlo Lopez, Kari Saguil with daughter Sydney,  and Tony’s daughters Katie and Claire were also present.

Sisters of Luigi’s father, Beth M. Maramara and husband, Tony, came from Perth, Australia while Rose Charamnac & husband Jean-Louise came all the way from Singapore. Two of Rose’s daughters were present as well, coming in from Singapore and Washington D. C.

It was a beautiful wedding, a culmination of a courtship bridging two cultures. We wish Luigi and

Priyanka a happy, long and blissful marriage!

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Himugso Heritage Feature:

Memories of the Oldest House in Cagayan de Oro:

El Case del Chino Ygua

By Mike Banos

(In commemoration of the 65th Anniversary of the City Charter of Cagayan de Oro, we are bringing back these stories on “Birthing the City”)

The earliest Chinese recorded to have settled in Cagayan in 1863 was Sia Ygua who came from Amoy. Although Amoy (today Xiamen) was the exit port, most of the traveling Chinese came from the Yuegang and Fujian areas. In the case of Ygua, however, his native town was really Amoy.

Casa del Chino Igua

Sia Ygua established himself as a merchant in Cagayan. Later, in 1882, he built himself a big house on Calle del Mar using bricks he imported from China. The bricks were loaded aboard Chinese junks were they served as ballast for the long voyage.

In Cagayan, the bricks were unloaded on the banks of the Cagayan river. From this house, Sia Ygua built the Chinese family with the most number of descendants in Cagayan. Some of these branches were those of his grandsons from his son Sia Kiam, Sia Simon Velez and Sia Tonhio, all of whom distinguished themselves as hard working entrepreneurs and loyal supporters of the local Catholic church.

Later, Sia Ygua himself participated in the patriotic activities of Cagayan during the Philippine-American War. His house subsequently figured as a landmark for those historic events.

On April 7, 2000, the National Historical Institute of the Philippines recognized Sia Ygua’s patriotic contribution by installing a national historical marker at his house, today known as Casa del Chino Ygua.

(source; A Cagayan de Oro Ethnohistory Reader by Antonio J. Montalvan II)

published 2004

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The Brick House of Insik Ygua in del Mar-Victoria Streets

By Fr. Francisco Demetrio, S.J.

Insik Ygua, a native of Amoy, China, came to Cagayan towards the last quarter of the 19th century, about 1860.

He started out as a food vendor (perhaps also sold puto). He made friends with the Recollect priests of San Agustin church. Due to his industry, and the help given him by the fathers, he gradually amassed a fortune.

Like most Chinese who settled in Cagayan, he took active part in civic and public life. He was known for his good heartedness. It is said that when he died, practically everyone in Cagayan wore black.

After many years in Cagayan he returned to China and there got married. It seems that his wife remained in his native land. However, his children (Sia Tong Joo, Sia Simeon Velez) followed him to Cagayan where they settled down.

Insik Ygua built a brick house at del Mar-Victoria streets. It was said to be the second “balay nga bato’ or ‘house of stone’ in Cagayan. The bricks used in building the house where shipped from Amoy to Cagayan in two boatloads.

During the revolution, many Filipino soldiers died a violent death in this house, massacred by the Americans. The bodies were buried in the backyard. To appease the souls and save the inhabitants from disturbance, Insik Ygua turned their burial place into a temporary cockpit. The blood from the fighting cocks was believed to appease the restless souls.  Also, on All Souls Day, until quite lately (1971), candles were lighted along the house in memory of the dead soldiers.

Today the house is much smaller and lower than it used to be, due mainly to the ravages of the last war. It has been renovated and the brick walls glossed over with cement coating. Many passers by forget that it is perhaps the oldest existing house in Cagayan de Oro City.

The ground floor has been converted into the well known novelty store, Sia Bon Suan, which underlines the take-over of the old by the new.

(First published August 28, 1971 in Cagayan)

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Publicly-listed A Brown Co. Inc. (ABCI) expects to roll out an additional 30 megawatts of peaking power capacity in three areas of Mindanao by next year through its power subsidiaries.

During the ABCI Annual Stockholders Meeting (ASM) held Friday, June 19, at the Xavier Sports and County Clubhouse at the ABCI’s flagship real estate development in Xavier Estates, Cagayan de Oro City, company officials disclosed it would spend P14.5 billion for new and expansion power infrastructure in Mindanao over the next 24-36 months.

Peakpower Socsksargen Inc power plant in General Santos City (photo courtesy of ABCI)

“The projects will be financed through a combination of self-generated equity, joint ventures and partnerships, and financing,” said Roel Z. Castro, executive vice president.

In a statement released earlier to media, ABCI said its power generation businesses are located in areas where there is a shortfall in supply, coupled with long-term off-take agreements.

“The 20.9-MW bunker-fired Peakpower Socsksargen Inc. (PSI) in General Santos and the 5.2-MW Peakpower San Francisco, Inc. (PSFI) in Agusan del Sur are currently running at full capacity. A third plant, the 10.4-MW Peakpower Bukidnon, Inc. (PBI) is scheduled to begin operations by the second half of 2016. Future project plans include a 15-MW and a 5-MW expansion in General Santos and San Francisco, respectively.”

In his keynote speech during the blessing and inauguration of the 20MW bunker-fired power plant of PSI at Bgy. Apopong, General Santos City last November, Energy Sec. Jericho Petilla said he was worried there are not enough peaking plants in the Mindanao grid.

“While there will be many new plants opening soon in Mindanao, most of them are baseload plants,” Petilla said. “I’d like to encourage more peaking plants because in the end, you cannot just rely on baseload plants. There will never be enough if there is no demand and you’re left with the peaking part hanging.”

The Department of Energy’s latest list of upcoming power projects show that while there are many base load power plants expected to be rolled out in the next 15 years, only 90 megawatts of the projected 500MW peaking energy requirements from 2015-2030 is now online.

Thus, even if new plants are coming in, Petilla fears this is woefully inadequate since most of the new plants would be tied down by bilateral contracts with distribution utilities and industries.

“In the future we will need many plants across cooperatives because that is the best way to make adjustments when our demand and supply don’t match every now and then,” he said.  “This will also encourage IPPs like Peakpower to set up merchant plants if they like the way the market is behaving.”

 “Through a 15-year Build-Operate-Maintain and Transfer Agreement, PEI will provide brand-new bunker fired engines to address the peaking requirements of qualified electric cooperatives,” said Mr. Castro, who is also president and chief executive officer of PSI. “We chose the Wartsila because of two major things: it is very fuel efficient and environmentally compliant, using cleaner Euro 4 compliant bunker fuel from Shell.”

“Mindanao already has 101MW capacity of diesel/bunker fueled peaking plants which will be operational by year end (2014),” said Rep. Edgardo R. Masongsong (1-CARE Party List) during his keynote speech at the San Francisco launch. He said embedded generation plants for DUs cut down on transmission costs and cushion the rate impact on the consumer.

“Peaking plants with a load factor of 30 percent running 5-6 hrs a day during peak demand do not significantly affect the price of electricity for the consumer,” he noted.

Architect’s rendition of Peakpower Bukidnon, Inc power plant (photo courtesy of ABCI)

ABCI subsidiary Peakpower Bukidnon Inc. signed a power purchase & transfer agreement (PPTA) with the Bukidnon II Electric Cooperative Inc in August 2014. The Contract terms include a Build-Operate-Maintain-Transfer scheme for a cooperation period of 15 years under which PBI would build, operate, maintain and transfer a power plant with 2 units of Wartsila V32 Diesel/Bunker-Fuel engines feeding 10.4MW to BUSECO. The project aims to address the 11MW shortfall in BUSECO’s present peak load of 35MW.

Its PSI Socsksargen expansion project in General Santos City would provide 10% of 130MW demand of the SOCOTECO II franchise area. PSI and SOCOTECO signed a PPTA last Feb. 2015 for the 13.4 MW expansion under a Build-Operate-Maintain-Transfer scheme covering a cooperation period of 15 years. Construction for the installation of the additional 2 two units of 6.7MW V32 Wartsila Diesel/Bunker Fuel engines is ongoing with target commercial operations by December 2016.

A similar 5MW expansion project is now under construction at the PSFI San Francisco power plant which will supply 17% of the 30MW demand of the Agusan del Sur Electric Cooperative (ASELCO). The two parties signed a PPTA last December 2014 for a 15-year cooperation period and target commercial operations by December 2016.

Meantime, ABCI also disclosed in its media statement the first unit of the 2 x 135-MW coal-fired Palm Concepcion Power Corporation (PCPC) in Concepcion, Iloilo is slated to be fully operational by early 2016.

“The project is in its advanced construction stage, possibly two months ahead of its delivery schedules,” says Mr. Castro. “Planning for PCPC’s second unit is also in the advanced phase. These projects would be able to provide reliable and stable power at competitive prices to regions where electricity supply is still inadequate.”

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The head of the trust banking unit of one of the Philippines’ largest universal banks advises people that now is the best time to borrow and invest due to a confluence of factors in the local and international markets.

Steven S. Sevidal, First Vice President & Chief Investment Officer of the Trading and Execution Department, Trust Banking Group, United Coconut Planters Bank (UCPB) stressed this point during his presentation on the UCPB Economic Briefing held at a local hotel last June 19.

UCPB 1st VP & Chief Investment Officer Steven S. Sevidal

Mr. Sevidal’s presentation was keyed around 5 Pop Questions often asked by bank clients: the best time to borrow, the best time to invest, impact on investments of the public perceptions of the current president, trends of the local currency and the power situation in Mindanao.

To start, Mr. Sevidal noted how with interest rates still relatively low, it remains the best time to borrow. “Still, it remains the best time to borrow considering where interest rates are now compared to where they were a few years back.”

Since peaking at 2008, interest rates have been trending downward and hit the lowest in 2013, and thereafter it has been headed higher in anticipation of a hike in US interest rates, he said.

“Domestic interest rates are moving higher in anticipation of the hike in US rates and will continue to trend higher,” he noted.  This could be partly attributed to the near term weakness of the peso due to the outflow of portfolio funds and in anticipation of a US rate hike.

“We are experiencing a funds outflow due to higher demand for the US dollar,” Mr. Sevidal said. “Thus, the impending interest hike by the US Fed makes dollars more attractive.”

Despite this however, the peso remains relatively strong and stable because it enjoys structural support primarily brought about by the steady USD remittances from abroad and the burgeoning IT-BPO Sector.

“Together, these two sectors alone contributed USD 45.4-billion revenues in 2014 or USD 3.7-B monthly,” he noted. In addition, the country has been enjoying a surplus in its current account dating back to 2003, an improving debt profile brought by the falling debt to GDP ratio and the shift to domestic borrowings vs. foreign denominated loans.

Effect of perception on President on Investment

“We have a very manageable fiscal deficit that, in fact, the government is not spending enough that our fiscal deficit vs. GDP has fallen to 0.06 percent last year vs. a target of 2 percent,” Mr. Sevidal said. “Together with our very benign inflation, all these make for a very healthy economy driven by healthy demand.”

The bank executive also downplayed widespread apprehensions that the world could be returning to the USD80-110/barrel of oil milieu.

“Probably not,” Mr. Sevidal said. “OPEC will not cut production, we are expecting more oil from Iran (up to one million barrels of oil a day once it reaches a nuclear deal with the US and its allies) and more oil from Iraq and Libya once the fighting stops. With continued pressure from shale oil in the US, low crude prices are good for the Philippines.”

“We have observed a direct correlation between crude oil prices and inflation in the Philippines; in fact as much as 15% of the country’s consumer price index is directly affected by a movement in the price of international crude, so that’s pretty heavy.”

Although GDP figures from the first quarter of 2015 has been lower than expected at 5.2%, Mr. Sevidal said he expects growth to recover for the remainder of the year due to increased government spending, timing and investments in durable equipment.

“We have the figures to show that government spending always surges a year before elections,” he said. Although public construction fell 24.6% for the first quarter of 2015, infra and capex spending increased by 11%.”

He showed a chart showing a pattern wherein government expenditures surges on the preceding year of the scheduled elections in 2002, 2006, 2009 and 2012.

“My thesis is, most probably, government spending will accelerate in the coming months in 2015,” Mr. Sevidal asserted. “In fact, just two days ago DBM said it has already released 95% of all budgets to all departments.”

Spending in durable equipment has also been rising from 4.0% growth and 12% of GDP in the first quarter of 2014 to 14.3% growth and 13% of GDP in the first quarter of this year.

Another positive aspect of present trends in the Philippine economy is direct relation between public perception of the presidency and aggregate investment.

He exhibited a chart showing how investments rose in the initial years of Pres. Cory Aquino’s term from 1986-90 before dropping in 1991-92. Again, investments rose during the tenure of Pres. Fidel V. Ramos in 1992-1997 before dropping steeply when Pres. Joseph Estrada took over in 1998-2000. The first two years of the Arroyo administration (2001-02) again showed a steep rise in investments before dropping in 2003-09 when controversies rocked her presidency.

Most investments under FVR but growth fastest under PNoy.

“Investments per GDP were highest under FVR at 24.1% but the fastest growth was experienced under President Benigno Aquino III so far with 5.9%,” he stressed.

Not the least, Mr. Sevidal identified important developments including the privatization of the Davao and Laguindingan airports and the Davao Sasa seaport under similar Operations & Maintenance + Upgrading contracts made possible by PNoy’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) initiative.

Coupled with the imminent normalization of the power supply in Mindanao, Mr. Sevidal said all these are compelling reasons to borrow and invest now, the positive impact on investments of the current president, and favorable trends of the local currency.

As chief investment officer of UCPB’s Trust Banking Group, Mr. Sevidal is charged with advising clients how to manage their investments, keep records, manage assets, prepare court accountings, pay bills medical expenses, charitable gifts, inheritances or other distributions of income and principal.

Misamis Oriental to have first condominium project in Initao

Publicly listed A Brown Co. Inc. will roll out P1.5-billion in new real estate projects in Mindanao over the next five years, among them, the first-ever high rise condominium in Misamis Oriental.

During ABCI’s annual stockholders’ meeting held June 19 at its flagship Xavier Estates project in Cagayan de Oro City, Robertino E. Pizarro, company president, reported a five-year projected total contract price of PhP2.5 billion for ABCI’s upcoming socialized and economic housing projects.

Ventura Residences model unit 1 (photo courtesy of ABCI)

In a media statement released for the occasion, Mr. Pizarro said ABCI is shifting its focus to middle income (economic) housing and socialized housing projects to help address the 3-million supply backlog in these sectors. Among these projects are Ventura Residences, St. Therese Subdivision, and Mountain View Homes in Balulang, Cagayan de Oro City.

For 2015, ABCI is launching Simple Homes projects: Mountain View Homes (expansion), Adelaida Residences, and Simple Homes developments located in Cagayan de Oro, Butuan City, Bukidnon, Rizal, and Davao City. Additional socialized housing developments in other parts of Mindanao are also being eyed.

Architects ‘ Perspective of Mt. View Homes (photo courtesy of ABCI)

For its mixed-use, nature-themed, master-planned integrated communities, ABCI has established industry leadership in Northern Mindanao with Xavier Estates, its flagship property in Cagayan de Oro, the region‘s pioneering high-end residential subdivision. Among the company’s other innovative properties in the high-end sector are Teakwood Hills in Cagayan de Oro, Coral Resort Estates in Initao, Misamis Oriental; Valencia Estates in Bukidnon, West Highlands in Butuan City, and East Cove Village in Rizal.

However, another new project which will not fall under the economic and social housing sectors is ABCI’s first ever vertical project, a 36-unit multi-story condominium at its prime Coral Resorts Estate in Initao, Misamis Oriental.

Although it is ABCI’s first vertical development project and a distant location from the urban areas of Cagayan de Oro and Iligan, Mr. Pizarro assures it is a market driven initiative.

“The project arose from the desire of many of our locators in Xavier Estates to have a second home where they could relax for the weekend, and Coral Resorts just happened to fill that need,” Mr. Pizarro said. “So the market for this project would definitely be Cagayan de Oro, and more specifically, our existing home owners in Xavier Estates.”

St. Therese Subdivision (photo courtesy of ABCI)

In addition to the shift to lower-end projects, ABCI Executive Chair Dr. Walter W. Brown also revealed plans to extend the company’s master-planning expertise overseas, upon receiving an invitation from the President of the Autonomous Region of Bougainville to develop projects in the territory. “We are currently studying this project seriously,” said Dr. Brown, who just arrived from a trip to Bougainville this June.

ABCI is a diversified holding company engaged in real estate development, agribusiness (palm oil plantation, milling and refinery), energy generation (coal, diesel, hydro and renewables) and resources (precious metals, oil and gas exploration). The company has primarily focused its business interests in Mindanao, though the power and real estate segments have investments in other regions.

The ABCI annual stockholders’ meeting was attended by ABCI stockholders, board directors, business associates, financial partners, and select employees. It was presided by Dr. Brown, Mr. Pizarro and Executive Vice President Roel Z. Castro.

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The end of June could be a rather late day to be planning your investments for the year but thanks to the kind invitation of UCPB Cogon Branch Manager Cris Parojinog, we were among the favored few fortunate enough to be invited to their Business Briefing for 2015 held June 19 at a local hotel.

Master Hanz Cua with UCPB Cogon Branch Manager Cris Parojinog

Our salutations to the UCPB Marketing Group led by Mr. Alex for putting together a well-received program which acknowledged both the Eastern and Western approaches to Business Forecasting.

The conventional western approach was presented by Steven S. Sevidal, First Vice President & Chief Investment Officer of UCPB’s Trading & Execution Department, Trust Banking Group. According to the brief but concise presentation of Mr. Sevidal, now is the time to borrow and invest due to a confluence of fortunate events (but that is another story).

Feng Shui Master Hanz Cua at the UCPB Business Briefing (photo by Ian Janier)

Interestingly, UCPB also brought in Master Hanz Cua to present the Easter Approach to Business Forecasting using the art of Feng Shui, which has been used by Chinese geomancers for centuries to foretell and prepare for the forthcoming events, both good and bad.

According to Master Hanz, Feng Shui is an ancient art and science developed over 5,000 years ago in China. Feng means wind and shui means water. It is a system based on the elements of astronomy, astrology, geology, physics, mathematics, philosophy, psychology and intuition.  

Feng Shui Master Hanz Cua (photo by Ian Janier)

In Chinese culture, wind and water are associated with good health, thus good feng shui came to mean good fortune, while bad feng shui means misfortune.  Today, economic tigers like China, Singapore, Hongkong and Malaysia observe feng shui in building the structures, establishments and residences by consulting a feng shui master. 

The ancient Chinese were already aware of the existence of the life or natural forces which is called “氣 [qi]”. They believe that this “qi” or chi flows around us and influences the prosperity and harmony of the human lives. By manipulating this energy, we can enhance our career, relationship, health and even our business.

Feng Shui

“This is what feng shui is all about – an ancient art and science which deals with the placement of buildings or other objects to accentuate the auspicious positive energies and to minimize those which are negative. This knowledge has been shaped through several centuries, but its principles are still relevant today,” notes Master Hanz.

“Whether you are in big industry or a small entrepreneur, you can always gain from the Wisdom of applying Feng Shui into your practices,” notes Master Hanz. “I’ve had plenty of important business people approach me for consultation. Conventional expertise in running your business can only take you so far. Knowing how to augment and increase your luck through positive ch’i management is a big plus that could yield much growth in your finances and improve operations in the company.

“My clients come to me when they feel that no matter how well or efficient they run their business, there is something they can’t explain that is holding them back from achieving bigger sales or affecting the operation in their work place. Perhaps a series of “bad luck” keeps happening to them. When you have explored all the logical avenues and there are still events you cannot explain or attribute to practical knowledge and science, Feng Shui Wisdom can step in and assist you.”

Master Hanz offers some general rules that may be helpful to implement in your place of business:

Master Hanz Cua hold aloft a Lou Pan or chinese magnetic compass used in Feng Shui

Look at your entrance. Whether your place of business is a store or an office, your entrance or main door should beautiful and attractive, the entry should be spacious, clean and free of any clutter to usher in both business and good energy into the establishment.

Avoid Clutter! This is a major Feng Shui rule in all business. Files, books, products and supplies should always be arranged neatly, and if possible have a storage where they can be kept. Clutter not only creates a bad impression on clients, it attracts stagnant energy that can affect the people who work there, afflicting your sales and negotiations.

Desk or cash register placement is important. In both cases, they should always be facing towards the entrance but not sit directly in front of the door.

The WEALTH area is in the far left corner of your office/store. It is good to use the appropriate enhancements (color, artwork or furniture) to energize this area. An aquarium with 9 goldfish, a money plant with gold or red ribbons or the cash box/cash register can be place here. You may also hold your business deals/planning in this area.

Energize your FAME corner (located in the South). All business could use good promotion and exposure. There are ways to energize your Fame corner; placing artwork or decor that has red or contains Fire symbols (triangles), placing a painting or scroll with a red phoenix or peacock, or putting objects and furniture that are wood (Wood element strengthens Fire).

Make sure to use appropriate lighting. Lights are often used as energizers in Feng Shui. Lights represent Fire element. They attract or raise ch’i in a room or space and influence vibrant activity in people.

According to Master Hanz Cua, 2015: The year of the Wood Sheep in Chinese Zodiac is represented by the benign and spiritual characteristics of the lamb, a gentle creature who grazes on grass and abhors bloodshed.

2015 Year of the Wooden Sheep

The Feng Shui chart has all the Five Elements (Wood, Water, Metal, Fire and Earth) in proper balance, heralding a more harmonious year. Yin Metal supports the Earth which is a resource element so there will be a boost of prosperity for our nation’s economy. The gentle nature of the Sheep will even influence local politics. Our leaders will work together more, and internal strife will decrease.

This year’s lucky color is green, which is very good for bringing luck in business. Wearing red and yellow this year is very auspicious. Wear green underwear to enhance luck! It will enhance power and influence and bring recognition luck. Those under the astrological sign of the Tiger and the Rabbit, will enjoy good fortune this year. So will the Horse, who is best friends with the Sheep.

Wear gold jewelry on your body to attract abundance and profitable opportunities.

Heaven Luck

Businesses with the Wood element will flourish. Industries that deal in textile, fashion, paper, rubber, and wood will benefit in 2015. Because Fire element is nourished by Wood, industries like restaurants, technology, computers and electronic gadgets, electrical supply, solar power and businesses that involve thinking, invention and new ideas will all be highly profitable.

North is the lucky direction in 2015. If your front door is located in the northern or Kan sector of the Bagua it is highly auspicious. Use this door often. Blue or black is the color of North, a welcome mat in this color will enhance luck.

Master Hanz Cua shows the 9 sectors of Feng Shui Orientation

In the Northwest sits the lucky “star of romance”, and this brings romance luck for single people; for those men already married or in committed relationship, however, the star of romance may be problematic. The temptation to stray from your partner may be strong.

While we can take advantage of the good tidings the Wood Sheep brings, Master Hanz cautions there are still things we need to watch out for:

The West Falls under the dreaded Five Yellow Misfortune Star. In the home or workplace, the Western sector is to be avoided as this brings total loss, sickness and accidents. Do not work on important projects, make renovations or sleep in this direction if possible.

Southeast is where the “illness star” is located this year. For people with illness or health issues, and for pregnant women, staying in the southeastern sector of the home should be avoided. The condition of the sick may get worse, pregnant mothers may suffer miscarriage. The Argument Star #3 Star sits in the center of the home, afflicting relationships in the family. Master Hanz advises placing rose quartz or red stone in the middle of the home to dispel conflict and aggression.

Business and Investment Forecast

Between February 4th to April 4th, 2015, investing in fashion and textile, and real estate is favorable. Between April 5th to June 5th, 2015, it is favorable to invest in agriculture and paper/rubber-related trades. Between August 7th to October 8th, 2015, it is favorable to invest in cars and tourism-related businesses. Between 8thOctober to 6th of December, it is favorable to invest in plantation and food-related businesses. Be wary of investments during the Ghost Month: August 14, 2015 to September 12, 2015

Philippine Economy

The Philippines is located in South East Asia. In this sector lies the star of illness for 2015, expect Earth related illnesses. However, more businesses will open; overseas remittances will strengthen; there will be more overseas work opportunities and the tourism industry will generate income.

Cagayan de Oro

This is also true for the City of Golden Friendship where tourism business will boom, as will earth related businesses such mining, real estate, agriculture, poultry and farming. As one of the Philippines Top 2 Competitive cities in the past two years, more businesses will open and it will be a good year to expand your business.

Since he was a little boy, Master Hanz Cua was already a psychic, blessed with the gift of reading people through their faces, and seeing through his third eye. He has earned a diploma as a Feng Shui Master Practitioner, specializing in Feng Shui, Bazi (Chinese Astrology) and Zi Wei Dou Shu (Emperor Purple Star Astrology) which decodes a person’s life path and destiny through the use of his birth date and birth time.

Master Cua has studied to sharpen his skills with Feng Shui grandmasters in Hong Kong, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Burma and Thailand. Dubbed “the youngest Feng Shui Master in the Philippines and Asia”, Master Hanz also trained to develop his intuition and ESP. He is also accomplished in Taro-reading and conducts classes on tarot readings not only in the Philippines but also abroad.

For a more detailed and personalized consultation, or if you would like the site of your business or home analyzed by Master Hanz Cua, you may contact him at 8 Treasures, Level 1 EDSA Shangri-La Plaza Mandaluyong City. 

Phone: (+63)9228290382  

Email:
Website: http://www.masterhanzcua.com/
Facebook: Feng Shui Master Hanz Cua
Twitter: @masterHanz168
Instagram: @masterhanzcua

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Publicly-listed company A Brown Company Inc. has created a new company to undertake the provision of bulk water for interested clients.

ABCI President Robertino E. Pizarro made the disclosure during the company’s annual stockholders meeting held June 19 at its flagship property Xavier Estates in Cagayan de Oro City.

ABCI EVP Roel Z. Castro fields a query about the bulk water venture during the Annual Stockholders Meeting held June 19 at Xavier Estates, Cagayan de Oro City. Also in the photo are ABCI officers Dr. Thomas Aquino, Annabelle P. Brown, Executive Chair Dr. Walter W. Brown and President Robertino E. Pizarro. (photo by Mike Baños, NPN)

“AB Bulk Water Company, Inc. (ABWCI) will engage in the business of holding and providing rights to water to public utilities and cooperatives,” said Mr. Pizarro. “This project is a partnership with local governments, aimed at addressing their needs for an independent water supply system. “

Earlier, ABCI said in a disclosure it has subscribed to the entire outstanding capital stock of ABWCI equivalent to five million shares at an undisclosed price. 

ABCI Executive Vice President Roel Z. Castro said the projects would be pursued under the guidelines of the national government’s Public-Private Partnership (PPP) program.

ABCI is a leading residential estate developer in Northern Mindanao and pioneered the Xavier Estates in Cagayan de Oro. Its other projects include Teakwood Hills in Bgy. Agusan, Valencia Estates and Mountain Pines Farm in Bukidnon, Coral Resort Estates in Initao, Misamis Oriental; West Highland Golf & Residential Estates in Butuan City;

Besides real estate development, ABCI also engaged in agribusiness, power and utilities, and accommodations and recreational facilities.

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