THE City of Golden Friendship has become a model in the country for “dividing” its place in 1972 into 80 barangays, half of them identified through numbers.
But City Councilor James Judith said there’s a need to upgrade this through an ordinance by adding “popular names” as landmarks of the numbered barangays so as to instill more familiarity.
“We called a commercial district in Divisoria as Barangay 12, but to many, especially the football community and the native residents of Cagayan de Oro have known it as Monte Carlo,” Judith said.
In passing an ordinance for this, Judith said it is still of relevance to retain the numbers, though adding a certain name familiar to the public would even make it better.
“Anything that is called by numbers is somewhat boring if not a bit confusing,” Judith said.
Agnes Paulita ‘Nanette’ Roa, historian, and archeologist said while Judith’s novelty would slightly alter the numbered barangays’ historical value, she’s just okay with the idea for us long that the assigned numbers will not be eliminated.
“It was in 1972 that the late Cagayan de Oro City Mayor Reuben Canoy authored in naming the downtown barangays through numbers as well as identifying the city streets with local heroes’ names on it. We’re first of it the idea was well-planned it has been modeled throughout the country,” Roa said.
Considering the names of “dominant features” as landmarks of downtown barangays would make it easier for the people to identify even if the name has no significant value at all.
He explained that Monte Carlo is a name of a gambling den in Barangay 12 from a distant past, but because of its popularity “we call Barangay 12 Monte Carlo until now.”
Roa, who used to live in Barangay 8 in Divisoria, also noted that some of the numbered barangays have already been transformed into commercial districts that native residents or voters who reside in said places can only be counted now by the fingers.
Merging those little barangays, Roa agreed, may not be a bad idea such as Barangay 5 (Divisoria South), Barangay 6 (Divisoria West), Barangay 8 (Divisoria North), and Barangay 9 (Divisoria East).
Barangay Kagawad Jaime Joshua Frias II, a former village chair of Barangay 23, said Judith’s idea is interesting and exciting.
Implementing it, Frias said, would unravel the historical value of each numbered barangays in the city proper.
He shared that his late father, James Borja Frias, served longer than the tenure of Ferdinand Marcos as president in manning Barangay 23 as one of the longest-serving village chiefs in Cagayan de Oro for 25 years.
“His (Judith) idea got me surprised but I am excited. Who knows, my father’s name might also be considered as part of a legacy,” Frias said.
