The pioneers of old Cagayan de Misamis have always been a mixed lot – Higaonons, Visayans, Tagalogs, Moros, Spaniards, Americans, Chinese, Japanese, Indians, and mestizos of various degrees and calibrations. All have contributed their lives, talents, and treasures for a brighter future of their communal heritage. The new visionaries are just now capitalizing on what has always been germinating and mutating here, and adding their own imprint, creativity, and spin to amplify this remarkable ongoing transformation story. (Eric S. Casiño, PhD)
Nicolas Capistrano from Angat, Bulacan
Head of the Kagay-anon Revolutionary Forces that opposed the American Invasion. Elected as the representative of the Second legislative district of Misamis and to the Philippine Senate in 1916 as one of the representatives of the eleventh senatorial district.
Segundo Gaston from Silay, Negros Occidental
Segundo Gastón y Soriba was the Municipal Mayor of Cagayan de Misamis from 1916 to 1919, Governor of Misamis from 1923 to 1925, and Representative of Misamis’s 1st district from 1925 to 1928, and of Misamis Oriental’s lone district from 1934 to 1935. Gaston Park is named in his honor.
Wadhumal Dharamdas Uttamchandani from Pune, Maharashtra, India
Mr. Wadhu arrived in the Philippines in 1924 as a 12-year old boy from Poona (now called Pune) in the western Indian state of Maharashtra and set up Wadhu’s House of Quality (now Wadhu’s Quality Store) in 1936 at Plaza Divisoria, the oldest store in Cagayan de Oro now run by his grandsons.
Sia Ygua from Amoy, China (Sia Ygua is the 4th from left)
The first Chinese immigrant to reside in Cagayan de Misamis (as Cagayan de Oro was then known) in 1854 and opened his business in 1857. Named “Tong Joo” after his second son, it was a typical trading post that dealt in indigenous products like copra, tobacco, abaca and the like. The business prospered and soon expanded to the nearby towns. In time it became one of the largest business establishments in the area. Ygua built his residence “Casa del Chino Ygua” in 1882, and it still exists today as the oldest residence in Cagayan de Oro. His more than 200 descendants have spanned five generations and live all across the country, although most of them still reside in Cagayan de Oro.
Pedro Sa. Baculio from El Salvador, Misamis Oriental
Pedro Baculio y Salvador was elected Governor of Misamis Oriental in 1941. Appointed as military governor of Misamis Oriental by Wendell Fertig in 1942, and resumed his elected position as elected governor in 1945. Elected congressional representative for Misamis Oriental to the inaugural Third Philippine Republic from 1946 – 1949. He paved the way for the creation of the municipalities of El Salvador, Medina, Jasaan (all in 1948) and Manticao in 1949. Further, he sponsored the resolution and authored the original bill that began the process of Cagayan de Oro cityhood from 1947 to 1949, later resumed by Congressman Emmanuel Pelaez in 1950. Appointed Mayor of Cagayan de Oro City by President Ramon Magsaysay in 1953.
Emmanuel Neri Pelaez from Medina, Misamis Oriental
Served as the 6th Vice President of the Philippines from 1961 to 1965. As a Congressman, he introduced House Bill No 52, picking up where Baculio earlier proposed cityhood for Cagayan, with the support of Mayor Max Suniel and Councilor Waldo McVickers. The Congress of the Philippines approved the Pelaez Bill on 12 April 1950, and sent it to the Senate, which refined it in two months. On 15 June 1950, President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act 521, the city charter of Cagayan de Oro.
Archbishop James T.G. Hayes S.J. from New York City, New York, USA
In 1928, he founded the San Agustin Parochial School, the predecessor of the present Lourdes College in Cagayan de Oro. In 1933, he founded the boys school Ateneo de Cagayan, now Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan; and the San Jose de Mindanao Seminary in 1956. In recognition of Archbishop Hayes’ role in the history of Cagayan de Oro, the road traversing from the north wing of the Cagayan de Oro City Hall to the St. John Vianney Theological Seminary was named in his honor.
Fr. William Masterson, S.J. from Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA
Fr Masterson, a visionary and champion of rural development, was the founder of the Xavier University College of Agriculture (XUCA), including the Manresa Farm Complex, the Xavier Science Foundation (XSF) and SEARSOLIN. On July 8, 1954 he founded the Ateneo Credit Union (ACU) now known as FICCO (First Community Cooperative), which influenced the rise of coops in the country. Masterson Avenue in Uptown Cagayan de Oro is named in his honor.
Ernesto B. San Juan from Paombong, Bulacan
Engr. Ernesto B. San Juan served as the Cagayan de Oro City Water District’s first and brilliant general manager from Aug. 1, 19973 to Feb. 26, 1997. Under his watch, the Local Water Utilities Administration (LWUA) cited COWD as the Most Outstanding Water District in the Philippines in 1986,1987, and 1999, before it was elevated to the LWUA-Water District Hall of Fame on 2000. In 1993, former mayor, Pablo P. Magtajas, acknowledged COWD as instrumental in fueling the city’s growth by leaps and bounds. He likewise commended COWD for its efficiency, competence , responsiveness to the needs of the people and sensitivity to public opinion, referring to the affordable rates (from P20 in 1973 to P218.40 for the first 10 cubic meters per month as of 2025), compared to other water districts around the country. He also served as the first dean of the Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan College of Engineering which was founded in 1979.
Gloria Laureana San Pedro Rosales from Limay, Bataan
The esteemed founder of Capitol University, Capitol University Medical Center, and the Capitol System of Schools was an educator, philanthropist and mother. By establishing five schools, one in Luzon and four in Mindanao, including Capitol University in Cagayan de Oro City, Rosales left an invaluable legacy of education to Mindanao, a region that has been underserved by administrations past and present. Aside from providing scholarship grants, she engaged in numerous philanthropic activities that benefited churches, mosques, seminaries and convents. She donated to the city a 10-hectare lot in Puerto, Cagayan de Oro City, for a drug rehabilitation center, and a home for unwed mothers and street children.
Elsa Pelaez-Pelaez from Cebu City
Liceo de Cagayan University was founded in 1955 by Rodolfo Neri Pelaez of Cagayan de Oro City and his wife, Elsa Pelaez-Pelaez of Cebu City, with the primary vision ‘of affording the youth in Northern Mindanao an opportunity to pursue relevant, quality education and facilitating their total human formation anchored in moral values and Christian precepts.
Romolo Valentino Benedetto Nati from Rome, Italy
Italian architect and entrepreneur who employs biomimicry to create sustainable real estate and energy projects. He is the Executive Chairman and CEO of Italpinas Development Corporation (IDC), a publicly listed real estate development firm in the Philippines that pioneered Green Architecture with the Primavera Residences in Cagayan de Oro which was completed in 2014.
Gonzalo T. Abaya from Laguna, Rizal.
Founding Chairman of the Cagayan Electric Power & Light Co.(CEPALCO). CEPALCO’s operations began in 1923, providing electricity distribution to Cagayan de Oro City and nearby areas. It was formally established as a privately owned utility company in 1958 and is now the Philippines’ 4th largest private power utility with over 180,000 concessionaires covering Cagayan de Oro City and the Misamis Oriental municipalities of Tagoloan, Villanueva and Jasaan, and the PHIVIDEC Industrial Estate.
Guillermo D. Luchangco from Metro Manila
Visionary investor and real estate magnate credited with igniting the boom in Uptown Cagayan de Oro with Pueblo de Oro Township, which brought in for the first time ever to Northern Mindanao SM Cagayan de Oro with the SM Store, SM Supermarket, Cyberzone, SM Appliance Center, Ace Hardware, Toy Kingdom and SM Cinemas, and also lured service centers, specialty stores and restaurants. Among its pioneer locator firms are Concentrix Philippines (started in 2005 as Link2Support) the first ever call center in Cagayan de Oro; and Primavera Residences condominium, the first green residential condo in CDO in 2010. Two of the city’s leading schools expanded into the Township: Xavier University-Ateneo de Cagayan’s XU Basic Education Complex, and Corpus Christi School’s grade school and high school. Today it is a self-sufficient 400-hectare township with sixteen residential communities, a burgeoning business park, top educational institutions, world-class all-weather golf course, and other leisure and entertainment business establishments.
Lim Ket Kai from Quemoy, Taiwan
In 1927, the family patriarch started the family business which soon expanded into the trading and exports of agricultural commodities, and in 1965 began milling to produce corn grits and flour, animal feeds, copra and, eventually, corn and coconut oil, margarine, shortening products and other edible oils. In 1966, the growing businesses were consolidated as Limketkai Sons Inc., while the manufacturing division was spun off into Limketkai Manufacturing Corporation in 2000. As the holding company, LKKS refocused on mainly real estate developments, and established Limketkai Centre, a 40-hectare commercial and business district with Limketkai Mall, the region’s largest shopping mall, and the 18-storey, five-star Limketkai Luxe Hotel. The group’s manufacturing arm, LMC, operates several milling, refining and manufacturing plants, grain drying and storage facilities, and distribution centers throughout the Philippines and has become the Philippines’ leading quality edible-oil provider, under its Marca Leon, Frito Plus and Mazola brands.
Cover Photo: Limketkai Center by Kim D. Saldivar
-30-
