CDO: City of Golden Friendships?

Southern Philippine city urged to show friendship

Published Date: August 17, 2010 (UCA Newsletter)

By Mach Alberto Fabe, Cagayan de Oro City

Archbishop Antonio J. Ledesma urges residents of Cagayan de Oro City to live up to the city’s ‘golden friendship’ nickname (file photo)

Residents of Cagayan de Oro are being urged to live up to the “Golden Friendship” slogan that is attached to their city.
Archbishop Antonio Ledesma wants the people to be friendly especially to people of other cultures and religions.
He said it is his personal hope that Cagayan de Oro residents will become models of peace.

“We in the archdiocese of Cagayan de Oro are very much involved in the promotion of the culture of peace and we are hoping that we will become examples of a true advocate of peace,” he told ucanews.

A study by the National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) showed 1,508 crimes were committed in Cagayan de Oro City during the second quarter of this year, 441 more than in the first quarter.
Physical injury ranks first in the list of crimes against person, with 163 recorded during the second quarter against the 156 in the first quarter. Rape ranked second, with nine incidents in the second quarter against 10 recorded in the first quarter, followed by murder (eight down from nine) and other homicides, up from three to four.

Archbishop Ledesma said the rising crime rate in the city, with many young people as perpetrators, is “alarming” and the Church must exert more effort in promoting a “culture of peace.”
He said Cagayananons have to work hard to stop conflict in Central Mindanao from spreading to Northern Mindanao, especially since the neighboring provinces of Lanao del Norte and Lanao del Sur are predominantly Muslim.

Lanao del Norte is part of the Northern Mindanao region while Lanao del Sur is part of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.