Cagayan de Oro City
Socio-Economic Profile
Summary Profile as of 1999

A.      HISTORY

                      The City’s history dates back many centuries before the Spaniards came to Cagayan when the territory was called Kalambagohan. Its main town, Himologan, was a hilltop fortress situated some eight kilometers south of the present Poblacion.

                      At the time when the first Spanish missionaries came in 1622, the people of Cagayan had tributary relation to Kudarat, the Muslim Sultan of Maguindanao empire in Cotabato. Yet the people had not embraced Islam. Instead, many became Christian after sometime. Because of this, Muslim warriors began to attack the settlement. As a defense strategy, the priests site of persuaded the people to transfer from the hilltop to a better location which is the present site of the Saint Augustine Cathedral. The Cagayanons were able to defend themselves for almost 250 years from Muslim harassment.                    

                      In 1738, Spanish dominance was felt in Cagayan. When Misamis gained status of province in 1818, one of its four districts was the Partidos de Cagayan.

                      In 1871, the “Partidos” became a town and was made permanent capital of Misamis.

In 1883, the town became seat of the Spanish government in Mindanao for the provinces of Misamis Oriental, Misamis Occidental, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte. Consequently, from a purely farming-fishing area, Cagayan emerged into a booming commerce and trade center.

                      The war years in Cagayan were prompted by the presence of the Americans in 1898. The local forces led by Major Apolinar Velez at the historic battle of Macahambus in June 4, 1900 initially and successfully repulsed the Americans.                   

                      After the troubled years, peace finally brought back the economic activities to normal but under the tutelage of Americans. St. Augustine School, the forerunner of the present Xavier University and of Lourdes College, was inaugurated in 1928.

                      On June 15, 1950 President Elpidio Quirino signed Republic Act No. 521 which granted the status of a chartered city to the municipality of Cagayan de Oro.

                      Following these events, the socio-economic order underwent some far-reaching changes. Activities grew in scale and importance until developed as the administrative center for the entire Northern Mindanao (Region X and XIII).

                      Today, Cagayan de Oro is one of the fastest growing city in the country.

C. CITY PROFILE

1. Physical Profile               

1.1  Geography

1.1.1       Location. Cagayan de Oro City is the gateway to Northern Mindanao. It is geographically nestled between the central coastline of Macajalar Bay to the North and the naturally rich plateaus and mountains of Bukidnon and Lanao del Norte to the South. The municipality of Opol bounds the City on the west while the municipality of Tagoloan, with its heavy industrial activities, is its immediate neighbor to the east. The City lies between the latitude 8-14-00 to 8-31-5 north and longitude 124-27-00 and 124-49 –00 east.

1.1.2       Land Area. Cagayan de Oro is the largest city in Northern Mindanao (Region X). Its territorial size is  … 29 times the size of the region; and   … 7 times the size of Misamis Oriental (3,570.10 sq. km.)

1.3 Topography          

1.3.1     Cagayan de Oro City is characterized by a narrow coastal plain along the Macajalar Bay and by highland areas separated by a sleepy inclined escarpment. The lowland is relatively flat and its elevation is not more than 10 meters above the mean sea level. The highlands bound the City in the south from east to west. They consist of plateaus, terraces and gorges. 

1.3.2   Creeks and rivers traverse and drain to Macajalar Bay. There are seven rivers namely: Cagayan River, Iponan River, Bigaan River, Cugman River, Umalag River, Agusan River an Alae River. The more notable creeks are Binono-an, Bitan-ag, Indulong, Kolambog, Sapong, and Umalag.

1.3.3   About 13,587 hectares or 28 percent of the City’s land area have a slope between 0 and 8 percent, which is appropriate for most uses. Such areas are concentrated on the narrow coastal plain, the flood plain areas of the Cagayan and Iponan Rivers, and in the upland terraces. The remaining 72 percent of the land have slopes that are greater than 8 percent, which pose a challenge to development.

1.4         Geology

1.4.1   Geomorphologically, Cagayan de Oro can be classified into three broad landforms: lowlands; level uplands; and hills/mountains. The lowlands contain five distinct forms, namely:

·        Sandbars. These are narrow, elongated strips of sand deposits formed by wave action on some section of the coastline. The extent is insignificant.

·        Tidal Flats. These are low coastal areas, subjected to tidal influence found mainly between the mouths of Cagayan River and Iponan River.

·        Coastal Alluvial Plain. This is the narrow strip of level area from Puerto in the southeast to the center of the city.

·        Broad Alluvial Plain. This is found in a limited patch around a small hill south of the city.

·        River Flood Plain. The Iponan and Cagayan Rivers have formed as extensive flood plain that coalesced north of the Cagayan-Iligan Highway. Such areas may be subjected to brief flooding during extraordinary rainfall events.

The uplands are classified into three (3) forms:

* Terrace or Plateau. There are three distinct plateaus that exist within the city limits. The most extensive one occupies the southeastern region. Another plateau is situated west of Cagayan River along the road to Lumbia and Talakag of Bukidnon. The third is in the south-central region just north of Barangay Indahag.

It covers 80 barangays, 63 of which are urban, namely:
 

1.4.1                   Land Use

The city has assumed a role, which is larger than its physical boundaries. It is the second highest-ranking urban settlement in the island of Mindanao, and is considered the most important center of a growth corridor occurring on the northern coast of Mindanao. Spanning a 187-kilometer strip and covering about 3,100 square kilometers, the Cagayan-Iligan Corridor (CIC) area has about 1.06 million residents and is endowed with rich agricultural and natural.

Because of these, it has been experiencing dramatic growth in economy which thereby instigates major amendments on the 1979 Zoning Ordinance.

·        Piedmont. This is an extensive upland area located along the road to Barangay Indahag and along the road to Malaybalay, Bukidnon.

·        Canyon/Gorge. These are the almost vertical walls along the very deeply incised river channels. The width of the canyon/gorges ranges from 500 to 1000 meters.

The hills/mountains take five different forms, as follows:

·        Escarpment. This is the steep slope separating the lowland plains from the hilly areas. In some sections, the slope is almost vertical.

·        Conglomerate Hill. Immediately above the escarpment area is a formation of conglomerate hills.

·        Limestone Hill. South of Lumbia are extensive rolling hill made up of limestone. A smaller limestone area is located on the right side of Bigaan River.

·        Shale/ Sandstone Hill. West of the Lumbia airport is another sedimentary formation of shale/sandstone hills.

·        Volcanic Hill or Mountain. On the farthest end of the city along the Misamis Oriental-Bukidnon boundary are rugged and steep hills and mountains of volcanic origin.

1.5         Soil Types         

Cagayan de Oro soils are predominantly clayey. Other soil structures are sand, sulfaquent, loam, and clayey loam.

Soils, which are good for agricultural production, are San Manuel Loam and Bantog Clay. The Matima Clay and Umingan Clay Loam are lesser quality for agricultural production. Other soil types which do not have any agricultural value are hydrosol, beach sand and stony clay. Some of these soils are in rough mountain regions not suitable for exploitation; others are in lowland, which are suitable for resort and urban-related uses.

1.6 Climate and Rainfall

Climate in the Philippines has been described in terms of rainfall distribution that occur during the year, classified as follows: Type I, Type II, Type III, Type IV.

In 1999, rainfall particularly in Cagayan de Oro, belonged to Type IV. Rainfall is more or less evenly distributed throughout the year. This is also intermediate between the first and second types.

PAG-ASA records reveal the following:

… The average yearly total of rainfall is about 2,305 millimeters.

… The coldest temperature was in February 1999, which
         recorded 17.6 C

… The hottest month, at 36.0 C, was July.

… The average wind run registered 1 to 2 m/sec.

TABLE 1: Mean Monthly Temperature of Cagayan de Oro City, 1999

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