Good times anew in my hometown of Tagoloan

Photo by Jong Casino

by Susan Palmes-Dennis

For two weeks, I was home again in Tagoloan town, Misamis Oriental in northern Mindanao, Philippines.

I'm at home in a town where I learned to read, write and do my arithmetic and multiplication tables. At home where my family and the friends of my youth live in, where life is just the best. 

For two weeks I was in Tagoloan and it is a beautiful town. It is one of the largest towns in Misamis Oriental and it is located to the east of Cagayan de Oro City and located southeast of Macajalar Bay. 

It is a residential and industrial town and according to Wikipedia it has five high schools, three colleges and two hospitals. Tagoloan has a population of 99,677 people as of 2013 and 29,677 registered voters as of 2010. 

As a member of the media industry in Cagayan de Oro City I knew that in the early 2000 there are 23,000 registered voters already and the number listed by Wikipedia is reasonable.

Migration
Tagoloan produced two governors in Vicente Emano and his son, the incumbent Governor Yevgeny Emano.
   
Not only did it produce politicians but also doctors, lawyers, engineers, nurses, teachers and other related courses. 

We also produced top military officials like retired Air Force General Gregorio Gerry Paduganan, son of the late Dodoy and Denny Gaccion Paduganan.

But there are many Tagoloanons who remained in the town and stood by it through thick and thin. There are many of them. I don’t have to name names and I salute them- they are the witnesses of what Tagoloan is today. 

When the Phividec Industrial Estate opened, many migrants from other towns and provinces came to Tagoloan for employment. As Phividec started growing, the migration increased and intermarriages followed. 

Stranger
Now I barely recognize a face in the crowd. Of course I understand that my contemporaries are either six feet under or migrated to other places. So for the first few hours, I felt like a stranger in my hometown. 

I recall being startled by the changes and I wasn't sure whether I could locate all the places I went to in my youth in today's Tagoloan town. Most astonishing to me then were the Mercury Drug Store and Paula Hotel—an actual hotel in Tagoloan town.

Tagoloanons can now shop in the town and don't need to go to barangay Puerto in nearby Cagayan de Oro City. What didn't change are the people in my town who remain friendly and well. 

Ask my friend Roy Paduganan and he would tell you. The stretch of the national road is a place of business. The Mercury Drug Store is located close to the home of Landa Yap who married a Dalman. It is no longer vacant. 

There are stores and business establishments of all kinds. Even the entrance of the Catholic cemetery could not be seen unless one is a frequent visitor of the cemetery. 

'Chicken place'
Then there is the hotel where my uncle Norman Naelga works and is operated  by the Ragandang family of Sta. Ana. Right in the hotel's backyard is a gasoline station. 

The area occupied by Iya Linda Lee or specifically the house owned by Seigfredo Lee is now known as the “chicken place.”  I forgot the name of the outlet though. Beside it is the terminal of taxis operating in the town.

Transportation is no longer a problem for those who can afford to go from Cagayan de Oro City to Tagoloan town. I think the fare is P300. Taxis are plenty along with the hundreds of trisikad and habal-habal (passenger motorcycle) operating in the town. 

Since there are a lot of commercial outlets, Tagoloan had become quite noisy. I recalled a time when it was a lot quieter and serene. I couldn't see the house of the Marianos because it is blocked by a three door commercial building which they own I think. 

Many other things remained the same. Tagoloan Central School, the Sta. Maria Candelaria Church  Catholic cemetery, the town plaza, St. Mary’s High school formerly known as St. Mary’s Academy and the Municipal Hall.

Improvements 
The Tagoloan Central School where I studied had been rehabilitated through the years.  I hope it won't be demolished unless it posed safety risks to the students and teachers. The building should be preserved. 

The Catholic cemetery which many believed is a public cemetery is filled with  occupants. When I visited the grave of my mother I think it rained the day before and it was messy. 

But I saw that there are improvements undertaken by the church. Five years ago I saw “condos” inside for the dead. The plaza is different now as there are finished and unfinished structures that cut its old size. 

A few acacia trees remain. The plaza used to be surrounded by acacia trees. 
St. Mary’s High School now looks new since the old one was burned several years ago. 

I hope it still houses the pictures of the old school. Being a former alumni president, I am supporting any project that improves the school. 

Nostalgia
The municipal hall is new and its compound houses new buildings. The old Puericulture center is gone. I don't know if it was necessary to demolish it to give way to the new PNP building.

The Puericulture Center, just like any other landmarks of Tagoloan, should have been preserved and rehabilitated to help Tagoloan residents remember the past. 

A long time ago I saw the market transferred to its new location. I have not visited the Tagoloan River due to time constraints. Maybe next time I would make sure to visit it.

I felt a deep sense of nostalgia on seeing my hometown. Everything seemed smaller than I remembered but it looks to be progressing and that's a good thing.

Photo by Jong Casino

(Susan Palmes-Dennis is a veteran journalist from Cagayan de Oro City, Misamis Oriental, Northern Mindanao in the Philippines who worked as a nanny and is now employed as a sub-teacher and a part-time teacher assistant in one of the school systems in the Carolinas.

Read her blogs on susanpalmesstraightfrom the Carolinas.com and at http://www.blogher.com/myprofile/spdennis54. These and other articles also appear at http://www.sunstar.com.ph/author/2582/susan-palmes-dennis.
You can also connect with her through her Pinterest account at http://www.pinterest.com/pin/41025046580074350/) and https://www.facebook.com/pages/Straight-from-the-Carolinas-/494156950678063)