Isabela and her ball

I don’t know why, but children really love balls. My Isabela is not an exception.

Maybe because they bounce back, or they are symmetric – hence is always in a proper position. Balls also have no edge hence comfortable to hold. Whatever is the reason it does not matter. My sweet Isabela loves playing it even during our small get together on the first day of 2014.

History of My Birthplace

I was able to access my old webpages at tripod.com (http://ajocsite.tripod.com/). I already forgot when I posted it but I think during that time many people are still doing webpages purely using HTML code only. Time really passes very quickly… but history seems to stick until forgotten. I am lucky that my Uncle Gendion D. Ajoc had written a simple and short history of my family and my birth place. I will post them here to ensure that will not be lost.

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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Barangay Sta. Cruz was formerly western part of Barangay Bad-as, Municipality of Placer, Surigao del Norte, Philippines. It was a rich frontier hinterland settlement occupied in the later part 0f 1800 A.D. dominated by Boholanos, notably the Odtojan, Ajoc, Dapar, Ganot and Elacion families. No roads existed then. The village was characterized by rich irrigated rice and corn lands with kaingins at the hills planted to upland rice, corn, tobacco, root crops and abaca. It is worthy to mention that the settlers original irrigation system was made without shovels, spades, crowbars and wheelbarrows, but only with pointed wooden sticks and native baskets for digging and moving the earth. It was though hard manual labor and genuine cooperation, which made them succeed in irrigating their farms.

Sometime in 1910, a certain Pedro Ajoc, popularly known as “Pero” with wife Francisca Odtojan initiated the establishment of the first cockpit on the hillside beside the ricefields, which later was converted to a Roman Catholic Chapel and finally into the first One-Teacher public primary school in the place, hence Sta. Cruz maybe considered the barrio proper of Bad-as at that time. Moreover, in 1936, during the incumbency of Gov. Vasquez and Provincial engineer O. Diez the place was chosen as the site of the landing airstrip in Surigao and the Philippine Army Training Camp, forcing the people to give up their lands to the government at a very low price.

In 1911, a provincial road was built from Placer poblacion to Bad-as leading to Macalaya. In 1923, the provincial road construction from Surigao, the capital town reached this village with road junction at Bad-as. This paved the way to the transfer of primary school to the present site of the Bads-as Elementary Chool and the chapel to the Sta. Cruz Roman Catholic Chapel along the highway . The later made through the initiative of a certain Guillermo Dapar and Pedro Ajoc.

Wanting of self-dtermination, the people of the village thru the representations of then Councilors Remigio Odtojan and Ramon Ajoc assisted by the Municipal Secretary Venacion Niog, Sr., a Municipal Council Resolution No. 132, S. 1947 was passed and duly approved by the Provincial Board and Secretary of the Interior, creating the barrio of Sta. Cruz, distinct and separate from Barrio Bad-as.

PROFILE

Sta. Cruz comprise of five puroks, namely Purok I at the Highway-Anislagan Road junction area, Purok 2 at the highway, Health Center-Elementary & High School-Danugon area, Purok 3 at Anislgan Road to Payao River area, Purok 4 at Sitio D. Ajoc (Km. 26) and Kinamkaman Bagakay Area and Purok 5 at the settlement of military personnel, Philippine Army Camp.

It has an area of 760 hectares more or less, bounded on the North, by Barangay Magupange, on the west, on the south by Barangay Anisalagan, on the East , by Barangay Bad-as and on the west, by Barangay San Isidro and Payakle, Sison.

It has a population of 1,703 with 241 households. A greater number of the people are in the government and private firms, with few engaged in buying and selling activities. The barangay has a complete elementary school with 12 teachers and a very viable high school with 8 teachers.

Two imposing church buildings, one a Roman Catholic and the other Iglesia Ni Kristo stands in their respective places here, not to mention the Philippine Independent Church Chapel which also exists. The cockpit of the municipality and the Philippine Army Headquarters for reservist are within the territory of Barangay Sta. Cruz.
Truly, Sta. Cruz is one of the biggest and most important barangays of the Municpality of Placer, Surigao del Norte.

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Thanks Uncle Gendoy.