Cagayan de Oro blog

J.R. Borja General Hospital Sapphire Anniversary Celebration.
August 25, 2008 Country Village Hotel, Cagayan de Oro City.

J. R. Borja General Hospital celebrates 45th year (Sapphire Night)

Sakay-Sakay sa Lambago fluvial parade, Cagayan de Oro City

Kagay-an Festival. Cagayan de Oro Fiesta.
Sr. San Agustin - Patron Saint.

“Higaonon Dance Festival 2008” is a street parade and dance showdown depicting the indigenous tradition of the Higaonons, an indigenous tribe in Mindanao.

Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today expressed fears that the city government of Cagayan de Oro is headed for a financial ruin as a consequence of the imprudent decision of the previous city administration to obtain a scandalously huge bank loan that is disproportionate to its paying capacity.

Pimentel said he was told that more than P1 billion worth of loan was granted to the Cagayan de Oro city government by the Land Bank of the Philippines without sufficient collateral.

From initial reports reaching his office, Pimentel said the collateral for the loan was in the form of a lot with a total area of less than 5,000 square meters. The lot is located not in the heart of Cagayan de Oro but in a barangay east of the city.

“The repayment of that loan and other existing loans of the city will impoverish the city and prevent it from delivering public services to its residents. Its internal revenue allotment will be consumed by the payment of these unconscionable loans,” he said.

Pimentel said that although local government units are authorized to borrow loans from banks and government financial institutions to finance projects needed by their communities, they should be of reasonable amount and should not unduly burden the LGUs.

He said the Cagayan de Oro city officials - both elected and appointed - who had a hand in securing the excessive bank loan should be held administratively and criminally liable for abusing the authority to borrow that is granted by the Local Government Code.

The senator from Mindanao said such anomalous loan is unfair to the residents of Cagayan de Oro since they will end up paying back the debt possibly in the form of higher local taxes.

“That is unjust to the people of the city. The Land Bank officials who approved the loans even if they would cause hardships on the people of the city should also be sanctioned,” Pimentel said.

Pimentel, principal author of the Local Government Code (Republic Act 7160), said officials of the Land Bank have obviously failed to exercise due diligence and to comply with basic banking rules before approving the P1 billion to Cagayan de Oro city government.

He also stressed that the Internal Revenue Allotment - representing the share of LGUs from the collection of national taxes - is intended to help provincial, city and municipal governments meet the financial costs of delivering public services.

It is simply not right if the lion’s share of the IRA will be eaten up by the repayment of loans incurred by the LGUs, the senator said.

To prevent the abuse of the borrowing authority of LGUs, Pimentel said that any loan application should have the prior approval or consent of the provincial board, city or municipal council.

Likewise, he said there should be full transparency in the availment of loans by informing the people about such financial transaction. Mindanao Current

This is the Kagay-an Festival Week, the climax of the month long celebration of the feast of the city’s patron saint, St. Augustine.

A line-up of weeklong activities for the Cagayan de Oro Kagay-an Festival 2008 is already getting to be exciting as celebrities are set to invade the city to join in the celebration. GMA Network will be covering the whole event which started with the opening of the Kahimunan Mindanao Island Fair last Friday, August 22, at Limketkai Atrium, of which GMA will also be participating and will be setting up a Kapuso Booth for fun and games.

Last Sunday, DJ Ardie and DJ Shai of GMA Campus Radio hosted the “Live Talk Show” also at the Limketkai Atrium during the Kahimunan which was followed by the GMA Variety Show at 6:00 PM.

Last week Marc Nelson was the guest in the Ms. Kagay-an Talent Competition at the SM City Atrium.

On Tuesday, August 25, Angelica de la Cruz is expected to join the Ms. Kagay-an Pageant and Coronation Night as celebrity judge while Mark Herras will be assisting in the question and answer portion during the pageant night.

The following day on August 27, 7:00 AM, GMA Network will participate in the Golden Float Parade and Mark Herras will escort Ms. Kagay-an 2008 winner at the Kapuso Float.

The Unang Hirit Barkada and other celebrities will be flying in to Cagayan de Oro for the live telecast of the Lambagohan Fluvial Parade on August 28 at 5:30 AM and will be featuring the best of Cagayan de Oro crafts, delicacies and adventure tourism. As the evening approaches, kapuso guest stars Nadine Samonte of Kim Sam Soon, Bellie and Cookie of Nuts Entertainment, Ram Chavez of Pinoy Idol, Jolina Magdangal and other surprise guests will party at Limketkai Atrium for the Kapuso Night.

On August 29, 5:00 PM, SM City CDO will be sponsoring the “Proudly Kagay-an: The Best of Kagay-anon Talents” with Ram Chaves of Pinoy Idol as their special guest.

Globe Philippines also brought in Cesar Montano for the ‘TM Power Piso Tour” last August 23 at the Amphitheater, Divisoria and on August 27, Shamrock Band and Hot Babe Ms. Jaycee Parker will grace Globe’s main event.

Meanwhile, a total of 13 contingents from Cagayan de Oro and Misamis Oriental will clash on August 26, 2008 in a narrative dance competition dubbed as the “Higaonon Dance Festival 2008” with a whopping P550,000 in cash prizes at stake.

The “Higaonon Dance Festival 2008” is a street parade and dance showdown depicting the indigenous tradition of the Higaonons, an indigenous tribe in Mindanao, committee chairperson Eileen San Juan said.

The grand prize winner will receive a cash prize of P200,000 plus trophy, while the first runner-up and second runner-up will get P150,000 and P100,000, respectively plus trophies. Non-winning contingents will also receive P10,000 each as consolation prizes, San Juan added.
The street parade starts at 8:00 o’clock in the morning and ends at the showdown venue. Parade assembly venue, parade route and showdown venue will be announced by the organizers later.

Along the parade route, three judges will be deployed in various stations where contingents can perform for a maximum of three minutes using a unified Higaonon musical beat and melodies that serve as the main tune to be played all throughout the street dancing.
Costumes must be nearest to the original Higaonon traditional garb with the dominant color of red, in combination with gold, black and white.

The street dancing competition accounts 50% in judging the top winners, while the remaining 50% will be based on the contingents’ performance during the final showdown competition.
Participating contingents from Cagayan de Oro include Barangay Kauswagan, Barangay 20, Barangay Consolacion, Barangay 35, Barangay 31, Barangay 30, Barangay 1, Barangay Bayanga, and Barangay Lapasan, while participating groups from Misamis Oriental are from the municipalities of Jasaan and Balingasag and St. Mary’s Academy in Gingoog City.

The “Higaonon Dance Festival 2008” is one of the five core events featured in the Kagay-an Festival 2008, a signature festival of the city’s fiesta on August 28, which is spearheaded and organized by the Promote CdeO Foundation, Inc. under president Ruben Vegafria.

Other major events include the “2nd Golden Float Parade Competition” on August 27; “Lambagohan”- the famous fluvial parade at the Cagayan de Oro River on August 28; “Kahimunan Mindanao 2008”- a trade fair and exhibit of Mindanao’s best products on August 22-25 and the “Ms. Kagay-an 2008” beauty pageant. -Mindanao Current

The Cagayan de Oro City Fiesta will take the center stage in the country’s events next week as President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is set to visit the city on August 28 to grace the special occasion and the 1st Jatropha Mindanao Forum.

It can be recalled that in last year’s fiesta, President Arroyo inaugurated the West Diversion Road or the Macapagal Avenue and watched the Fluvial Parade.

This year, President Arroyo confirmed her presence through the Presidential Management Staff to attend the city fiesta and to open formally the First Jatropha Mindanao Forum at Grand Caprice Convention Center and Restaurant in Lim Ket Kai Center held on the fiesta day.

The forum on Jatropha is spearheaded by the Philippine National Oil Company-Aternative Fuels Corporation which targets to develop 500 hectares of open, marginal, idle and under-developed lands into Jatropha curcas model plantation and seed orchard in barangays Lumbia, Canitoan and Pagatpat.

Jatropha commonly known as “tuba-tuba” is considered an alternative fuel.

City Mayor Constantino G. Jaraula is pleased with the President’s decision to grace the city fiesta celebration for the second time. (CIO)

From a history that dates back to as early as 1899 when the first Miss Cagayan de Oro was crowned, the annual Search for Miss Cagayan de Oro is one of the most awaited event of the month-long fiesta celebration. The Search for Miss Cagayan de Oro is a true test and display of a Cagayanon lady’s charm, grace and wits as local ladies vie for the title of being the rightful city ambassadress of goodwill.