Puregold Opens Cagayan de Oro Branch

On Friday, December 13, 2013, Puregold Price Club Inc. opens its Cagayan de Oro store. Its distinctive green and yellow painted building is located where the burned Ororama Mega Center was along Claro M. Recto Avenue, Agora Road junction, Lapasan, Cagayan de Oro City. The site is to the east of and adjacent to Lim ket Kai, the largest shopping complex in the city.

Puregold Price Club Inc. is a fastest growing hyper market in the Philippines.  Its first store was established in Mandaluyong, Metro Manila in 1998. Since then the business has expanded into over 200 locations in many parts of the Philippines. The Cagayan de Oro store is its fifth and is also the flagship store in Mindanao. Most of the other stores are concentrated in Metro Manila and other major cities of Luzon and the Visayas.     

                                                        

The company is founded and owned by Chinese-Filipino billionaire tycoon Lucio Co. He and his wife Susan Co were jointly listed by Forbes as the 10^th richest persons in the Philippines as of July 2013. Their fortune is estimated at about 1.9 billion US dollars.

Puregold has added to the many Manila based chain of stores that already operate in the city such as SM, Robinson’s, Centrio, Unitop among others. In addition there are the Lim Ket Kai, Ororama and Gaisano which are also into the tightly contested retailing business industry in the city.

                                                                                                                        

By opening a branch in Cagayan de Oro, the management of Puregold has implicitly expressed its optimism that the city is a good investment destination for further growth of its business.

Kagay-an Festival 2013: the Kumbira 2013

Kagay-an Festival 2013 has started with opening activities of the Kumbira 2013 on August 14 at Atrium, Lim Ket Kai Mall. This is attended by Mayor Oscar Moreno and Tourism Secretary Ramon R. Jimenez Jr. as guest. Kumbira a local world for feast is a culinary show competition and live food and beverage preparation seminar that is organized and run by the Cagayan de Oro Hotels and Restaurant Association (COHARA). It is now the 17^th year on which this activities have been conducted and made as a part of the city’s fiesta’s activities. Kumbira 2013 which is held from August 14 to 16 is considered a home of Mindanao chef “wars”, a regional elimination contest for a national food showdown. Other activities for the Kagay-an Festival 2013 or the fiesta also include garden show, PBA legends basketball game, marathon, horseshow competition, beauty pageant, pyro festival, parade of icons and religious procession. The fiesta activities will culminate on August 28, 2013, the feast day of Saint Augustine, the patron saint of Cagayan de Oro. 

Cagayan de Oro Bomber Identified, Charged in Court

Police authorities in Cagayan de Oro City have filed multiple murder charges against Usman Hapids along

Usman Hapids, the suspect

with several John and Jane Does on August 7, 2013 before the City Prosecutor Office.  The suspects are believed to belong to a small and obscure group of dubious persons called Khilafa Islamiyah Mindanao which is believed to have a link with local terrorist groups. Bangsa Moro Islamic Freedom Fighters, Jemaah Islamiyah and Abu Sayyaf are Al Qaeda linked local terror groups which are waging a war against the Philippine government to establish a caliphate and an independent Islamic State in Mindanao.                                                                                  

The filing of the charge was made hours before the Philippine Senate of Public Safety chaired by Senator Grace Poe-Llamanzares conducted a hearing in aid of legislation regarding the bombing incident in Cagayan de Oro. The hearing was attended by DILG Secretary Mar Roxas, Mayor Oscar Moreno, PNP chief Alan Purisima and other top police officials.  

  

 Reports from the witnesses have it that five suspects first entered the Gloria Marris Restaurant at Rosario Arcade in Lim ket Kai on the evening of July 26, 2013 for dinner. At about 11 p.m. a blast was heard shortly after the suspects went out of that restaurant. Usman Hapids who is believed to be from the province of Lanao del Sur was tagged as the one who left a bag on a table outside Kyla’s Bistro on that fateful evening before the deadly explosion that killed 8 persons and wounded 46 others.                                                                                                             

At present Usman Hapids and his still unidentified companions are still at large. The police with the help of other government agencies as well as the intelligence community are working hard for the early resolution of the case. Mayor Moreno has offered a two million-peso bounty to those who can give information leading to the arrest of the suspects. 

                                                                                                            

Authorities said the possible motives of the persons behind the bombing include terrorism, personal grudge against one of the victims and outrage against the “Hapsay” program of Mayor Oscar Moreno which is aimed to rid the streets of vendors especially at public markets because they disrupt the flow of vehicular traffic. The city government however promised to relocate the vendors who are displaced by its “Hapsay” program.

A Display of People's Solidarity for Peace in Cagayan de Oro

On the morning of August 2, 2013, different sectors of society expressed their solidarity against acts of terror and violence which were perpetrated by still unknown person or group who was responsible for the deadly bombing at Kyla’s Bistro in Lim Ket Kai Arcade in Cagayan de Oro on July 26, 2013. The blast claimed the lives of 8 persons and injured more than 40 others.  The large number of casualties who were mostly medical professionals and medical sales representatives who came from different parts of the Philippines to attend a medical convention in the city made headlines in television, radio and newspapers. President Benigno Aquino III has ordered the police to conduct a thorough investigation of the incident and arrest the perpetrators.

Archbishop Antonio Ledesma

The activities of solidarity for peace started at 7 a.m. with a mass at the blast site at Kyla’s Bistro. It was attended by the people who would participate in the march and the rally for peace. Archbishop Antonio Ledesma  officiated the mass. He was assisted by Monsignor Elmer Abacahin and Father Antonio Moreno S. J.                                                    

                                                                                                          

After the mass was the solidarity walk for peace which was participated by different sectors such as members of the civil society, professionals, businessmen, members of the Muslim community, representatives of public market vendors, government employees and members of law enforcement agencies such as the police and the army. The participants started at Lim Ket Kai Arcade passing through streets at Cogon Public Market, J.R. Borja Street and into their final destination which was the Kiosko Sa Kagawasan in Divisoria. Mayor Oscar Moreno and his wife Arlene were among those people who participated in the march.

Mayor Oscar Moreno with wife

At the Kiosko Sa Kagawasan a rally for peace was conducted with a short program. Representatives of different sectors made their speeches. Among them was the representative of the Muslim community and other sectors. Police Superintendent Michael John Deloso gave an update of the investigation regarding the incident. But so far there was hardly anything new to his pronouncements that were not known to the audience. Mr. Teddy Sabuga-a who spoke in behalf of Mayor Moreno announced a two million-peso reward to any person who could give information leading to the arrest of the real perpetrator of the bombing.

  

Cagayan de Oro is called the “City of Golden Friendship” because its people are known for their friendliness and hospitality to their visitors. Those traits in addition to the strategic location of the city in Mindanao are some of the reasons why Cagayan de Oro is a hub of investments, tourism and other economic activities that made it as one of the premier cities of Mindanao. Kagay-anons are saddened and outraged with the incident that caused embarrassment to their city. The bombing was an isolated incident, and it should not scare tourists and investors away from the city. Kagay-anons want a closure of the case with the arrest of the perpetrators and bringing them before the bar of justice.

A Deadly Bomb Explodes at Lim Ket Kai Arcade, Cagayan de Oro

An improvised explosive device made from 81 mm mortar ammunition exploded at Lim Ket Kai Arcade in Cagayan de Oro at around 11:30 on the evening of July 26, 2013. The bomb claimed the lives of 6 persons and injured 40 others. The victims were outside the Kyla’s Bistro and Candy establishments where tables and chairs were set to accommodate night customers. Friday and Saturday evenings are usually busy business days for said establishments, and live band plays to entertain customers.                                                                                                                             

Some of the victims were instantaneously killed by the bomb. Others died on arrival at the hospitals and still many others are brought to the different hospitals in Cagayan de Oro City.

One of the fatalities is Roldan Lagbas, a board member of the first district of Misamis Oriental. The others are identified as Anthony Cañete of Iligan City; Ryan Estose of Mega Heights , Gusa, Cagayan de Oro; Emmanuel Palafox of Zamboanga City; Dr. Emmanuel Malanay and Antonio Paredes, a medical sales representative from Macasandig, Cagayan de Oro City.

The victims are composed of local residents and visitors to the city who went to those establishments to unwind in the evening there. Some of them came from other parts of the Philippines to attend the16^th mid-year national convention for the Philippine College of Chest Physicians (PCCP) which is held at the Grand Caprice Hotel in Lim Ket Kai Center. This is the reason why many of the blast victims are health services professionals and medical sales representatives.

Local civil and police authorities urge the public not to make speculations about the identities of the suspects and the motive behind the attack while their investigation is still ongoing.

Following pictures are taken in the morning after the incident. Viewers are warned that some pictures contain gory details that they might consider gruesome.

the site of the bomb explosion

                               

                                                                               

water from a hose to clean the scenes creates a pool of blood

Centrio, an Ayala Mall in Cagayan de Oro City

Centrio, an Ayala Mall has formally opened its business operation in the city of Cagayan de Oro in Northern Mindanao, Philippines on November 9, 2012. The mall which is owned by Ayala Land Incorporated is constructed at a cost PHP 4.7 billion which is equivalent to US$ 114.41 million in the current peso-dollar exchange rate.                                                                                                                                                                              

The 3.7-hectare mall is situated right along C.M. Recto Avenue, the busiest thoroughfare of the city which is also a part of the national highway. To its north right across the road is another mall, Gaisano City.  On the east side of Centrio is Capt. Vicente Roa St. and on its west is Corrales street.                                                                                                                                 

Aside from the mall, Centrio has also a hotel, a BPO office and a condominium tower within its complex. It has a gross ground floor area of 64,000 square meters with a 44,000 square meters of gross leasable area in a 3-storey structure which can accommodate 300 concessionaires. Two Philippine acacia trees which are within Centrio’s land were left alone by the developers. The area where the trees are located now serves as its mini-park and garden.

Patrons of the mall are accorded with comfortable ambiance such as fully air-conditioned building. Inside it are sporting goods stores, book stores, pharmacies, restaurants, movie houses and other business establishments that offer wide assortment of goods such as clothes, shoes, watches, books, cameras, electronic goods, computers, foods and other goods. Rustan’s, a Manila-based chain of business establishment will soon open in the mall its Fresh Supermarket which is its first ever in Mindanao.

Centrio is a welcome addition to the big malls that established their business in the city such as Gaisano, Shoemart, Robinson and Lim Ket Kai which is just a short distance away from it. Centrio’s business operation will indeed contribute to the economic growth of the city. Moreover, it will also provide employment opportunities to the youth of the city and its neighboring areas.