Five score and four years ago, the patriot Porfirio Chaves and his wife Fausta Vamenta turned over on June 19, 1917 one of the earliest monuments in the country of national hero Dr. Jose Rizal which still graces the center of the plaza today.
The city appropriately celebrated its centennial on June 19, 2017 with the installation of a centennial marker commemorating its first 100 years, and two marble plaques with Bisaya ang English translations of the original Spanish inscribed in marble.
The late Dr. Erlinda Burton, then chairman of the Cagayan de Oro Historical and Cultural Commission (Hiscom), and Mayor Oscar S. Moreno led the unveiling of the Centennial Marker which was installed just below the original marble dedication written in Spanish at the statue’s pedestal.
The two marble plaques with Bisaya and English translations of the original Spanish dedication were installed on two nearby plant boxes. The English translation was done by Ana Maria Villaranda while Henry Lasola of the Knights of Rizal did the Bisayan translation.
