CAGAYAN DE ORO, Philippines – It’s an irony how even most local residents in Northern Mindanao’s capital city remain unaware of the key role their forebears played during the Philippine-American War.
Despite the local government’s efforts to raise awareness about Cagayan de Oro’s storied history, such as holding the annual Himugso (birthing) Festival with free tours of its museums and walking tours in the old quarter, the usual apathy seems to affect even schoolchildren undertaking them as part of their history class requirements, noted Jesus Christopher Salon, acting curator of the Cagayan de Oro Museum.
However, this hasn’t deterred the persistence of a determined band of community historians from commemorating these historic events every year on their anniversary dates with guided tours, lectures, and literature to highlight their significance, Salon said.
Kagay-anons actively opposed Spain’s ceding of the Philippines to the United States under the terms of their peace treaty signed on December 10, 1898.
In Cagayan de Misamis (as Cagayan de Oro was then known), the Spanish authorities surrendered to Misamis Governor Jose Roa y Casas and Cagayan de Misamis Mayor Toribio Chavez, both appointed by General Emilio Aguinaldo.
Thus, the townspeople of Cagayan de Misamis celebrated their independence with a Fiesta Nacional on January 10-11, 1899, when the Philippine flag was raised for the second time in Mindanao.
However, the Americans were determined to stamp their authority as the new colonial overlords of the nascent Aguinaldo Republic and invaded Cagayan de Misamis on March 31, 1900.
Kagay-anons, led by General Nicolas Capistrano, attacked the US 40th Infantry Regiment garrison under Colonel Edward A. Godwin at what is now Gaston Park on April 7, 1900, in what is now known as the Battle of Cagayan, but they were repulsed with heavy casualties.
The Kagay-anons were again defeated during the Battle of Agusan Hill on May 14, 1900, when they suffered 38 killed, including their commander, Captain Vicente Roa, after Company I of the same unit, under Colonel Walter B. Elliot, attacked their fortified positions.
However, the Kagay-anons gained some payback when the US 35th Regiment was repulsed by El Mindanao Battalion under Colonel Apolinar Velez at the Battle of Macahambus Hill on June 4, 1900. It marked the first-ever defeat for the Americans during the Philippine-American War.
History buffs, students, teachers, and researchers can tour the following sites in Cagayan de Oro, which mark these encounters:
Macahambus Hill
It’s a historical marker at the site of the June 4, 1900, Battle of Macahambus Hill, where Kagay-anons of the El Mindanao Battalion, under Colonel Velez and Lieutenant Cruz Taal, inflicted the first defeat of American forces in the Philippine-American War.
Gaston Park
The historical marker commemorates the site of the April 7, 1900, Battle of Cagayan, when Kagay-anon patriots attacked the American garrison at Gaston Park, causing heavy losses.
Casa del Chino Ygua
One of the oldest existing residences in Cagayan de Oro, where some of the Kagay-anons who fell in the April 7, 1900, Battle of Cagayan are buried in its backyard and where the Fiesta Nacional of January 10, 1899, originated. This was also where the Fiesta Nacional parade celebrating Philippine independence from Spain was held on January 10, 1899.
El Pueblo a sus Heroes
It was erected in 1931 by Cagayan Municipal Mayor Apolinar Velez in honor of the Kagay-anons of the 1st Company, El Mindanao Battalion, led by Captain Vicente Roa y Racines, who fell in the Battle of Agusan Hill on May 14, 1900. Their bones were interred in the vault at the back of the monument.
Apolinar Velez Monument
A masterpiece by the late Jasaanon sculptor Ramon Icayan Cabello, the statue at the Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School, honors Velez, who led El Mindanao Battalion to victory over the Americans on June 4, 1900. Later, as governor of Misamis Province, Velez, also known as Señor Cayong, founded the Misamis Provincial High School in 1909, now known as the Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School (MOGCHS).
Agusan Hill
The historical marker from the National Historical Institute (now the NHCP) marks the spot where Captain Roa and 37 other Kagay-anons of the 1st Company, El Mindanao Battalion, fell during the Battle of Agusan Hill, now also known as Heroes Hill. – Rappler.com