FRAGMENTS OF HISTORY

The Dipolog Cross. Who cares about the old landmark at the coastal end of Rizal Avenue (main road) of Dipolog City? The cross faces the Dipolog Cathedral at one side, and the sea at the opposite side. Old folks believed that the cross shielded the early Dipolog settlers from periodic Moro attacks through miraculous apparition of a shining protector with stretched arms right at the cross; this drove the Moros away. According to Tatay Esteban Zamoras (Silverio→ Venancio→ Buenaventura→ Esteban) the cross was erected by our great grand fathers at that spot to guide other migrating relatives from Bohol, to indicate where Dipolog was. Sailing from Bohol to Dipolog had to be serious decision; imagine crossing about 150 km with just oars (bugsay) and sails (layag). Although a westward sea current helped them reached Dipolog, it would still take them days of sailing in the open sea. To verify that indeed they came to the right coast, our great grand parents like Venancio carved their names on the cross. Finding the names of the Zamoras pioneers marked at the cross, the succeeding relatives from Bohol would confirm that they came to the right destination. Jorge (Roman→ Pedro→ Jorge) & wife Mentay who came to Dipolog around 1935(?) were among Zamoras kins to gather in Dipolog that gradually increased in number. They worked as peddling merchants, farmers and carpenters in Dipolog. Accordingly, the Zamoras settlers used to own almost half of the downtown Dipolog but eventually sold the lands part by part. The main base of the Zamoras, Lubing Ogis (or now, Galas) remains the solid ground of the Zamoras Clan. (The sad fact is that the original cross was already replaced by a new one, about 10 years ago.)