Cagayan de Oro, Safest City in Mindanao
I was invited to join the Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro last month. This is the, I think, the 4th or 5th oldest Rotary Club in The Philippines, established April 22, 1948. Older clubs are in Manila, Cebu, Davao, and maybe Iloilo. There are 14 Rotary Clubs in Cagayan de Oro. The one I’m joining is commonly known as “the mother club”, which has some of the more notable citizens of CdO as members, including Mayor-elect Tinnex Jaraula, Al Limketkai, and Steven Gaisano.
Another notable local citizen is my Rotary Club of Cagayan de Oro induction batch mate, Colonel “Doi” Trumpe, chief of Police for the City of Cagayan de Oro, above with yours truly.
Mindanao has gotten a bad rap, what with at least three terrorist organizations recognized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security present on this beautiful tropical island, and perhaps rightly so, but Cagayan de Oro has never ever suffered any kind of terrorism, and in my opinion is a considerably safer city than Manila or Cebu; and the guy above, Colonel Trumpe is the guy that should get much of the credit for that.
June 25th, 2007 at 22:58
Hi! I am a Cagay-anon who now works and resides in the U.S. Whenever homesickness hits me, I google CDO to see what is going on in my old hometown. I always come across your blog and I enjoy reading what you write all the time, from your Honda bikes to your great love story.You provide a fresh perspective of my city, an outsider-looking-in sort of view. But then, you are no longer an outsider, right?
The Mother Club is very close to my heart- and that would be an entire blog entry. I am glad you are joining the “old boys” of CDO.
I loved what you wrote about impending fatherhood. Keep on writing. Be a chronicler. Be Pigafetta.
Weny
(Baltimore)
July 1st, 2007 at 20:45
work and reside
September 17th, 2007 at 09:50
Totally agree about CDO.
I first came here (from the UK) 12 years ago en-route to somewhere else. 7 years ago when the final decision was made to settle in the Philippines, Cagayan was the obvious choice.
In those early days I would be stared at when walking down the street, since non-Malay features were something of a rarity. The city has grown at a tremendous rate over the last ten years and become much more cosmopolitan but has maintained it’s friendly atmosphere. It’s nigh on impossible to walk the streets, day or night, without meeting and greeting a friend.
Mindanao does get a bad press internationally which is largely undeserved. Over a decade I’ve travelled to Surigao in the north-east, Davao in the south-east – via the cool central mountains of Bukidnon – , Dipolog in the north-west and down to the beautiful and much maligned city of Zamboanga at the south west tip.
The worst things that ever happened were breakdowns and flat tyres!