Historical events in January

Monday, January 30, 2012

SINCE the month of January is about to end, I decide to share with my dear readers four important historical events that happened in this month with the hope that this will enrich our knowledge on our local history.

JANUARY 7, 1945

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On this day 67 years ago, Capt. Fidencio Laplap and his men, who all belonged to the 2nd battalion and Combat Company under the guerrilla network of Col. Wendell Fertig, started to bombard the headquarters of the Japanese High Command that was at the St. Agustine Cathedral. This century old church was the overall command post for the frontline operations, deployment and movement of troops of the Imperial army, Navy and Air Force units in the occupied territories in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. The Japanese had their foxholes and trenches along the riverbank and they exchanged fire with Capt. Laplap and his men who occupied the western bank (Carmen side) of Cagayan River.

By noontime, the intelligence unit reported that the Japanese left town and were headed to Bukidnon. The guerrillas crossed the river on hastily made rafts of banana trunks and bamboo. By 3 p.m., Cagayan was completely liberated from the Japanese by Capt. Laplap and his group. They occupied the town from this date to September 15, four months later, when American forces landed in the beaches of barangays Agusan and Bugo.

JANUARY 10, 1899

On this day 113 years ago, Kagay-anons celebrated the inauguration of the first Philippine Republic with a grand parade, speeches and cannonades. The grand parade stopped at Casa Real (the present City Hall complex) and on the balcony, Valeriano Akut recited the patriotic poem titled "Pinahanongod." This was composed especially for this occasion by the poet, Toribio Chaves y Roa, the first elected Municipal President (now Mayor) of Cagayan de Misamis. In casa Real were the newly elected local officials under the Aguinaldo revolutionary government headed by Provincial President (now Governor) Jose Roa y Casas.

The Cagayan de Oro Museum has a copy of the famous float during that historic parade. This came from the family of the late historian Filomeno M. Bautista. It shows Isidra Yamomo, then known as the loveliest woman of Cagayan, holding the new Philippine flag while standing on a broken chain of slavery. She symbolized La Libertad de Filipinas. This was also the time when the flag was first hoisted in Cagayan de Misamis.

JANUARY 21-24, 1916

Ninety-six years ago, the town of Cagayan was struck by a great flood. It rained hard and continuously for three days that the waters of the river overflowed. The waters partly submerged Divisoria and Calle Nueva (now Pabayo St.) and residents went to this area by banca or rafts. Many people perished and houses were washed away.

After the flood, there was a serious problem in sanitation due to lack of clean water. This led to a cholera epidemic in Cagayan. More people died of cholera than during the flood that the municipal government ordered for the dead to be buried in mass graves in the hills of Indahag.

JANUARY 26, 1900

On this day, 112 years ago, Kagay-anons and Misamisnons rushed to Club Popular (now the Cagayan de Oro General Hospital and Puericulture Center), the town's civic center, upon hearing that the American troops already conquered Luzon and the Visayas and were on their way to Mindanao.

Since they experienced total independence for over a year, they wanted to preserve their freedom at all cost. On this day, they signed the historic Pact of Resistance whose singular cry was "We fight to protect our homes and preserve our liberty." Many of the men signed the document with their own blood.

In the ensuing months to come, most of them joined the Liber Troop, the resistance army that was headed by Gen. Nicolas Capistrano. They fought a year-long war against the Americans in Cagayan and in many parts of the Misamis province.