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.
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