Corregidor: We Shall Not Forget
Most of us first encounter of Corregidor were through the
pages of our history books in school. Through these treasured pages, we have
been brought back to the beautiful and tragic story of our past which most of
us have forgotten as soon as we closed the book of the past.
But I hope to remember the story on those pages.
It was one Saturday in September when I together with 3
other friends came to visit the historical place that once been a dream
destination of mine.
Booking a Corregidor overnight tour ahead, we gathered at
Sun Cruise terminal at around 9:00am. We headed to their office, presented our
booking vouchers which we got from a group buying website, registered and were
given stickers for identification. These stickers show the passenger’s name, seat
number in the ferry and your assigned bus number.
Around 11am, we all boarded the ferry and in less than an
hour reached the island of Corregidor. Upon alighting from the ferry, we were
guided to our bus number or Tran via.
The Tran via that takes the passengers within the island is
modeled from the old trolley cars that were used during the American-Japanese
Occupation.
We were brought first to the Corregidor Inn, the only hotel
and restaurant in the whole island, for our inclusive tour package lunch
buffet.
And now we’re on to reminisce the momentous past.
Corregidor comes from the word “corregir” which means to
correct. It is believed that during the Spanish era, all ships entering Manila
Bay were required to have their documents checked at the “Isla del Corregidor”
or Island of the Corregidor, while some story would say that the island was
named “El Corregidor” as it became a penitentiary or correctional institution
during the Spanish era.
This tadpole-shape island is actually part of Cavite, contrary
to what most of us know that it is part of Bataan. It’s divided to three parts;
Topside, Middleside and Bottomside
Our first stop was at the Battery Way, this was where the
ammunitions been stored.
Here are some of the big guns fired against the Japanese
soldiers during the 1940s.
Located on the Topside part of the island is the Mile-Long
Barracks, a three-storey hurricane-proof building. Measured about 1,520 feet
long, Mile-Long Barracks was known to be the world’s longest military barracks.
Then we headed to the Pacific War Memorial, built in honor
of the Filipino and American soldiers who fought in the Pacific War. Directly
under the top opening of the dome is an altar on which these words are written;
“Sleep, my sons, your duty done, for Freedom’s light has
come; sleep in the silent depths of the sea, or in your bed of hallowed sod,
until you hear at dawn the low, clear reveille of God.”
At the back of the dome stands Eternal Flame of Freedom, a
large red steel sculpture designed by Aristides Demetrios. The sculpture
commemorates the heroic deed of American and Philippines soldiers who fought
for freedom, and the fire to defend it will be burning eternally.
Pacific War Memorial Museum was built to display number of
memorabilia, photos and news clips during the war.
Before the war, people in Corregidor were much fun of
entertainment. They had a movie theater called Cine Corregidor. At the back of
the theater was the place for their gala nights.
Our next stop was the Spanish lighthouse. The original
lighthouse which was built by the Spaniards in 1836 was destroyed during the
World War II. The lighthouse being seen
erected right now was constructed on the same site of the original lighthouse.
This is considered as the highest point in the island, with an elevation of 629
feet above sea level. A view of Corregidor, Manila Bay, South China Sea and
Bataan can be seen once on top of the lighthouse.
“I Shall Return”. This was the famous line by Gen. Douglas
MacArthur. A military advisor to the Philippine Commonwealth, Gen. MacArthur’s
task was to organize and train a Philippine army for the approaching war
against the Japanese. When it was
seemingly to win the battle against the combined naval-air-ground assault by
the Japanese, American President Roosevelt ordered the leave of Gen. MacArthur
to head to Australia where he planned, trained and led armies.
And true enough to his words, he did return to the Philippines
and led the defeat of the Japanese forces in 1945.
There are memorial gardens in honor of the Filipinos who
died at the hands of Japanese soldiers, and on one of which, sculpted the major
events in Philippine history.
This riffle and helmet standing on the center of a memorial
reminds us of the Filipinos who risked their lives and the bloody battle that
transpired.
And there is also a memorial for the Japanese who died in
the battle. Many Japanese come to Corregidor to pay respect to their bereaved
soldiers.
Late in the afternoon, we were brought to the Malinta Tunnel
for the Light and Show.
Malinta Tunnel was originally built to house ammunitions,
but during the war, it had served as medical unit and communication command
center. The tunnel which took 10 years to be completed, from 1922 to 1932, also
served as the headquarter of President Manuel L. Quezon.
Today, the Malinta Tunnel is the venue for the Lights and
Sounds Show where the dramatic events that took in the World War II are re-enacted.
The script for the show was written by Lamberto Avellana, a national artist and
film director, sculptures were made by national artist Napoleon Abueva and was
narrated by Franky Evangelista.
Knowing and experiencing the tragic past of our fellowmen
through this show could be saddening to the point that I cried when at the end
of the show, the Philippine flag was raised and the Philippine anthem was
played.
After the heartbreaking show, we headed back to the hotel to
rest for a while before going to the hospital.
Adding to the creepy ruins of the hospital was the story
that was shared to us by our tour guide. According to him, aside from being
where the wounded soldiers were brought during the World War II, this place was
also where the Muslims from Mindanao were assassinated.
The tour guide said that the late President Marcos demanded
for a number of Muslims in Mindanao who would be trained for a special mission.
They were brought blindfolded to Corregidor for training. Upon learning that
the special mission would be fighting with their Muslim brothers in Sabbah
Indonesia to win the pinag-aagawang lupa they declined. Since this was a secret
mission, all the Muslims who had been part of the mission were gunned down.
The names of the massacred Muslim soldiers were written on
the walls of the ravaged hospital.
After exploring the desolated hospital, we went back to
Manila Tunnel for the night tour. This time with our helmets and flashlights we
walked inside the laterals. The tour guide discussed important events that took
in place inside the tunnel and pointed out the different headquarters.
We were also brought to where the Japanese soldiers blew
themselves up so not to be captured by the American forces. For the Japanese,
it is more honorable to die than to surrender to their enemies.
And to let us actually feel what the Japanese soldiers
experienced when trapped inside the tunnel, we were asked to switch off our
flash flights while walking on the lateral. It was very creepy that you would
be thinking that there were some others walking with the group.
The eerie experience we had at Malinta tunnel ended our tour
for that day, and yes, now we were inside our rooms and would manage to sleep.
We woke up at around 4:30 am the following day, we plan of
watching the sun rise, but unlucky because of the gloomy weather we weren’t
able to.
After that unfortunate event, we climbed down the Japanese
tunnel located in a masukal. This was where Japanese soldiers hid their
ammunitions.
Aside from the historical tour offered by Corregidor, they
are now other activities like ATV (All Terrain Vehicle) and zipline.
Good thing that the hotel has a swimming pool because I
don’t think you can swim at the beach.
At around 1pm, after having our lunch, we prepared our
things and readied for our ride back to Manila.
My two days in Corregidor has taught me many things. I may
soon be forgetting some of the facts I’ve learned, but the sure thing I will
not is that in this place, Filipino and Japanese soldiers alike sacrificed
their lives for their mission and that it to protect their own people.
