As part of Cagayan de Oro’s 75th Charter Day celebration, the City Government recently re-opened to the public Phase 3 and Phase 4 of the ongoing Project Lunhaw that aims to revive Plaza Divisoria as the heart and soul of the city.
On June 11, 2025, Phase 3: JR Borja Park & Kiosko Kagawasan Redevelopment ug Phase 4: Rizal Park Redevelopment was turned over to the city government by Project Lunhaw. These renovations fall under Phases 3 and 4 of the “Project Lunhaw” climate resiliency development initiative. The two renovation phases collectively cost more than PHP5.6 million.
“The rehabilitation of Divisoria may not be immediately noticeable during daylight hours, but when you observe it at night, the transformative changes truly become apparent,” Mayor Rolando “Klarex” Uy said in a presser.
Launched in 2017, Project Lunhaw is part of the United Nations Habitat Building Climate Resilience through Urban Plans and Designs Project. Phase 1 was started in 2020, the project’s Technical Working Group (TWG) took on the task of designing a 3-part mitigation scheme for these hazards: Lunhaw West, Lunhaw Central, and Lunhaw East.
As part of Lunhaw East, Plaza Divisoria will be converted into a walkable, bikeable heritage park, introducing green and water features to improve ambient temperature, permeable paving for surface runoff absorption, and water catchments to sequester rain and supply the water features, while preserving the park’s historical value. The park aims to set a benchmark for open spaces in the City.
History
Plaza Divisoria was constructed in 1901 by Tirso Neri y Roa, a rich merchant who was then municipal mayor of Cagayan de Misamis, the former name of the city. Much of the site used for the plaza was donated by Neri to the town.
“The purpose of this plaza in fact, was to serve as a divider for the town. Divisoria is a Spanish word which means divider,” local historian Antonio J. Montalvan II explained. “At that time, Cagayan de Misamis, as the town was then called, was continuously razed by big fires. So, in order to contain such kinds of conflagrations, Tirso Neri built this fire break known as Plaza Divisoria.”
However, due to its central location, Plaza Divisoria soon became the socio-political and cultural center of Cagayan de Misamis.
On September 10, 1916 it was the scene of a big parade celebrating the passage of the Jones Law, which granted a bicameral congress to the Philippine Commonwealth.
On June 19, 1917, the patriot Porfirio Chaves and his wife Fausta Vamenta turned over one of the earliest monuments in the country of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal, now much improved under Phase 4 of Lunhaw East.
To the east is the old monument El Pueblo a sus Heroes, where the bones of local revolutionaries who died in the Battle of Agusan Hill on May 14, 1900 were once interred, now also much improved under Phase 2 of the ongoing redevelopment.
At the center of the old plaza used to be a structure known to all Kagay-anons as the “Kiosko”. In the 1950s, people gathered here for importance social and cultural occasions, such as the annual celebration of National Heroes Day.
By the 1960s, people were regularly gathering in the area that used to be occupied by Police Precinct 1, more popularly known as the OKK (for Operation Kahusay ug Kalinaw) to discuss the burning issues of the day. This group of residents became what is now known to old-timers as “The Plazans” and included many of Cagayan de Oro’s finest like Councilor Pio Roa, Yo Amon Fuentes, Dr. Jose Montalvan, Jesus Roa, Anastacio Gabor, Ramon Echem, former Governor Paciencio Ysalina, Aquilino Pimentel, Sr., Tawag ng Tanghalan National Champions Tata Neri, and Rizal “Boy” Ortega, the late police chief Melo Esguerra, Carlos Yamut, and former RP Ambassador to the US Raul Ch. Rabe, to mention a few.
The “Kiosko” was later replaced by the “Bandstand” built by City Mayor Justiniano “Tiñing” Borja in the 60s, who also restored the central significance of Plaza Divisoria by building another structure, known to Kagay- anons as the “Ampi” (for amphitheater).
The “Ampi” was Cagayan’s version of Manila’s Plaza Miranda and saw the likes of Philippine presidents, from Carlos P. Garcia to deposed President Joseph “Erap” Estrada. The original structure was torn down and has since been replaced by the P80-million Community Amphitheater on February 28, 2022.
“All Philippine presidents who came to town addressed the people of Cagayan de Oro in Plaza Divisoria,” Montalvan recalls. “So in a sense, this is the Plaza Miranda of Cagayan de Oro.”
The renovation of the Community Amphitheater is part of the city’s Project Lunhaw that aims to transform the remaining open spaces along the City Hall’s riverside and downstream into modern recreational areas.
Aside from the open theater, the renovated Amphitheater now has a multi-level parking as well as office building with footbridge and ramp, spaces for rent, viewing decks, and sun shelters.
Among the other proposed areas to be improved through Lunhaw East are the Duaw Park, city’s riverside, landside, and Plaza Divisoria.
