Introducing the Amazing Men & Women of Cagayan de Oro City

Here, at long last, is a primer for the younger generation of Kagay-anons, as well as those of us, getting up in years, who could be a tad wiser after going through this book, about who those pioneers who made our city were.

Gwendolyn Ramos Garcia relates how she came up with the idea for “The Amazing Men and Women of Cagayan de Oro City”.

“When I started mulling over this Dream Project, I only had the vaguest idea about what I wanted to accomplish. It started as a thought – that I owed it to those men and women who had contributed to the city’s landscape in many different ways, and to my mother who would have liked the idea of putting together something like this.”

Wendy, as she is known to friends, is the daughter of former City Councilor Pureza Neri-Ramos, who has the distinction of not only being the first lady lawyer of Cagayan de Oro, but also the first FIDA President of Cagayan de Oro (Federacion International de Abogadas) and first Jaycerette President of the city as well. Her brother is also a former city Councilor Honorio “Boy” Ramos, Jr.

Wendy belongs to the Roa and Neri clans on her Mother’s side, and to the Abejuela and Ramos clans on her Father’s side. Her grandfather was Lucio Salvador Ramos y Pimentel who was twice elected Mayor of Cagayan de Misamis.Growing up in a genteel household such as this, placed the author in the middle of the city’s social and political milieu, thus often giving her a first-hand knowledge of the personages listed in her book.  

“Quite daunting with me not knowing when, where and how to start, who to include, how to arrange the materials, and so on,” Ms. Wendy admits in her book’s introduction.

“For one thing, many or most of those I wanted to write about had long been gone. And when I started contacting their family members, I realized it was not going to be a walk in the park. There were a few who were very enthusiastic and shared materials including old photos. Others were indifferent or outright just not interested. I’m glad I did not let such minor setbacks discourage me. I continued to work at it, a little at a time, adding names and groupings in my head.”

Thus, the reader is treated with sketches of names the present youth and immigrants to the city only know from the street names like Toribio Chaves, Tirso Roa Neri, Gen. Nicolas Capistrano, Maximo Suniel, and Apolinar Velez.

“Another problem was how to arrange my book in an orderly, cohesive and interesting fashion,” she relates further.  “The eureka moment came after I had gathered about a dozen personalities to write about. And as I plodded along, more subjects came to mind although it became obvious that I could not write entire pages about some of them. The practical approach therefore was to arrange them together if they belonged to the same genre, in a manner of speaking.”

So, the reader will find the list of the mayors of the former Cagayan de Misamis from Toribio Chaves in 1898, to Hermigildo Avanceña in 1945, followed by the elected mayors from Lucio Ramos in 1946, to Maximo Y. Suniel who served as the last mayor of Cagayan de Misamis. and transitioned as the first Mayor of the Chartered City of Cagayan de Oro in 1950, and on to Oscar S. Moreno, who was the mayor at the time this book was published.

Then this is followed by the sketches of the Jesuits who played a crucial role in the formation of the city from Most Rev. James T. Hayes, SJ, its first Catholic Bishop and Archbishop; the esteemed scholar Fr. Miguel A. Bernad, SJ; the visionary Fr. William Masterson, SJ, father of the Cooperative Movement in Mindanao, the Xavier University College of Agriculture, and South East Asian Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN); Fr. Antonio Cuna, SJ, famous as the XU Glee Club Director “Derps”, organizer of the Basta Ikaw Lord (BIL) and Born to Love (BTL) movements responsible for the Christian Formation of young men and women of XU, and organizer of the Christian Family Movement, and Marriage Encounter Programs; and not the least, Fr. Francisco R. Demetrio, SJ, founder of the XU Folkloric Museum, now the XU Museo de Oro.

Mention is also made of the Rev. Lloyd Van Vactor, American missionary of the United Church of Christ in the Philippines (UCCP) who was a key figure in the formation of the Cagayan de Oro UCCP Church, Pilgrim Institute (now Pilgrim Christian College), and the Dansalan College of Marawi City.

Lest I spoil the reader’s delight in perusing through the history of the other personages in this book, let me just list its other sections, such as Personalities on the World Stage, the Press, Arts and Culture, Education, World War II Heroes, and not the least, the Saga of 3 Remarkable Families who helped transform the city.

Finally, the book ends with a photo gallery of the personages presented it its pages and  how their exploits helped make Cagayan de Oro known far and wide as “The City of Golden Friendship.”

“I am happy that I finally made a resolve to work religiously on said project and see it to its completion. Hopefully, this coffee table book  will enlighten not just my generation but also future ones about those amazing men and women who, because of their life work and passion have made a positive impact in the lives of all Kagay-anons,” the author writes.

“I thank God for planting the seed in my mind and heart. Without His Grace, this would not have been possible. Perpetuating the memory of those who have gone before us should be everyone’s concern because how else can we keep our town’s history alive. By honoring and celebrating the lives of these men and women, we are inspired to follow in their footsteps.”

“Read on and be enthralled by their life stories.”

“This book is dedicated to my mother, Pureza Neri Ramos, and to my husband, Peter Garcia, and our daughters, Maria Margarita Nguyen and Gretchen Latham.”

“It is the story of our hometown. Perusing its pages is like strolling down memory lane. You may recognize many of the personalities featured in it — they may even be your relatives or friends. I hope you will derive as much pleasure from reading it, as l did in creating it.”

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