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.

MOHS/MOGCHS through the Years

Statue of Gov. Apolinar Velez on horseback

In the early years of American occupation only few places in the country had schools to serve the need of children aspiring to get higher education. People from the provinces had to send their children for their education to the capitals of the country. In that context only rich families were capable to provide their children better education. Fortunately, the Americans were more dedicated in improving the literacy of the Filipinos than their Spanish predecessors. Education was the greatest legacy the Americans left to the Filipinos. Under their administration they saw to it that children from age 7 years and above should be in school and that free educational materials were availed to them. The Americans also helped facilitate the establishments of elementary, secondary and tertiary schools in different parts of the Philippines.

In 1907, Don Apolinar Velez, one of the founding fathers of Cagayan de Oro and the governor of Misamis Oriental thought of establishing a secondary school  in his native place so that parents would not have to send their children either to Manila or Cebu to study. He conveyed his proposal to the Philippine legislative assembly which was headed by Speaker Sergio Osmeña of Cebu. During that time the Philippines was one of the unincorporated territories of the United States. Filipinos were given a semblance of autonomy by having all-Filipino elected members of the National Assembly. Executive power however was vested to the American governor general who was appointed by the President of the United States.                             

Don Apolinar’s effort came into fruition when he was granted an audience by Governor General William Cameron Forbes. The latter gave a green light to the plan. He told Don Apolinar to secure a piece of land for the school that would include a large athletic field which was a necessity since American school curriculum included sports.

The site of the school should include an athletic field

The generosity of some people of Cagayan de Misamis now Cagayan de Oro to donate their lands as the site of the school realized the establishment of the Misamis Provincial High School which was also called Escuela Provincial. The school was inaugurated on December 15, 1909 with no less than Governor General William Cameron Forbes as the guest of honor. Other guests included Speaker Sergio Osmeña and other dignitaries.

Classes formally opened on January 10, 1910 with an all American faculty. The first principal was the American Mr. Henry Smith. The last one who was American was Mr. William Goodrich. Mr. Simeon Vale was the first Filipino to hold that office in 1928. Due to the increasing number of students the intermediate grades were separated from high school administration in 1926.                                                               

The periods of the Philippine Commonwealth, the Second World War and the Philippine Independence saw the transformation of MOHS from an American administered school into a Filipino administered one with its curriculum attuned to the cultural, educational and other circumstances of young Filipino personalities. On June 1, 1965 RA 4247 converted MOHS into a national high school, and since then it has been known as Misamis Oriental General Comprehensive High School or MOGCHS.

Cagayan de Oro as a highly urbanized city became administratively independent from Misamis Oriental. The province however still keeps its seat of government in the city. And it still owns some properties and institutions inside the city. This includes MOHS which is presently called MOGCHS.

During the term of President Corazon Aquino a new 1987 Philippine Constitution provided for a compulsory and free education for all children at the elementary and high school levels. The provision has benefited many Filipino families specially the poor who could not afford to send their children to private schools.

Today, it is easier even for poor families to enable their children have elementary and high school educations because they are for free and schools are widely available so that even barangays have their own national high schools. Families belonging to middle class and the rich usually send their children to private schools. 

Being a public school, MOGCHS is a school for the masses and for everyone who wishes to study there.  Although the school is under the administrative jurisdiction of the province of Misamis Oriental, it is in essence a school for the people of Cagayan de Oro because most of its students are from the city and that its location is in the heart of the city. MOGCHS and its athletic field which is now the Pelaez Sports Center are not only pioneer institutions of learning and sports in the city but they are also historical sites of Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental. 

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

The Bees, the Pollinators

At the side of my house there grows a wild fast growing but rather small size tree with a soft wood called “mansanitas” or small apple. But its fruit is in no way related to the real apple. It has very small succulent fruit with many soft seeds and a skin that is colored red to purple when ripe. Although the fruit is sweet and edible, it is mostly a treat for animals. Only few kids eat the fruits as a sort of playful activity rather than to fill themselves with it. Adults completely ignore the fruit.

Because of its flowers, the tree has attracted insects particularly bees that search for foods. Bees and other insects are some of the agents of pollination. Others include man, rain and wind. The bees in the tree are busy particularly in the morning when they fly into flower and sip its nectar. Pollen grains stick to a bee's legs and body as it brushes the anther of the flower. As the bees fly from one flower to another some of the pollen are dropped into the stigma of a flower. A tube then grows down from the stigma into the ovule. This will cause the ovary of the flower to be fertilized by the male cells that comes from the pollen. Fertilized ovary grows in size and develops into a fruit.

In most cases the pollen of a flower is transferred by the bees to another flower of the same plant or to another flower of another plant of the same species. A fruit that develops in the latter situation will have a healthy offspring. A flower that is fertilized by its own pollen or a flower that is fertilized from pollen of another flower of the same plant could result in an inferior seeds or offspring that are incapable of surviving a harsh environment or weather. Some plants have a built in system to prevent self pollination by having stigmas that reject pollen coming from the same flower.

Some plants that are very small like grasses are pollinated by the wind. Dry minute pollen of some grasses are blown away and fertilize the ovule of flower of other distant grasses of the same species.

Plants make themselves conspicuous with their beautiful colored flowers to attract pollinators. Other plants that have dull colored flowers make up for their deficiencies by emitting a fragrant scent especially in the evening. That kind of plants will give a nice ambiance at night with their pleasant smell so that it seems that the surrounding is sprayed with perfume.

The scene of the tree by my house is a sort of community of several species of animals that share a common purpose to sustain themselves. The process of pollination is a way on which the bees can feed themselves and produce their own offspring. For the tree, it is a means by which it can reproduce itself when fruits are developed as a result of pollination. Discarded seeds are scattered on the ground after the fruits are consumed by man and animals. The seeds in turn develop into new plants thus continuing the tree’s life cycle.  Because of pollination man and animals are able to have foods such as vegetables and fruits. Without it they could not have sustained their life on earth.