By KC Santos
CORREGIDOR ISLAND, BATAAN – A visit to the historic Corregidor Island is a must if you want to learn more about Filipino heroism beyond what you can read in history textbooks.
The island lies at the entrance of the Manila Bay, southwest of Luzon, and is a repository of old artillery. Due to its rocky geographical landscape, it became known as “The Rock” at the height of the war in December 1941. It became the fortress and a key bastion of Filipino and American soldiers who formed an alliance against Japanese troops.
For someone who knows very little about this part of Philippine history, I knew that would help me form a visual image of what really transpired during the historic Battle of Corregidor.
The trip from the very beginning was extra special. Instead of a luxury cruise ship, I got to take the more exciting ride aboard one of the boats of the Philippine Coast Guard.
It took three to four hours before our boat finally docked on the Corregidor port where we were met by a troop of Navy men who anchored and strapped the ship before we were all escorted down safely.
The island was deceivingly small but we had to be shuttled for another 15 minutes to reach the main hotel which was nestled in the higher section of the island.
Our tour was not unlike the typical tours done by the tourism office; our tour guide was one heck of a comic. The tour officially started once everybody of the guests were on board the viewing bus.
The tour gave us a back story on the ruins of the barracks and the remaining weaponry found at the top, middle, bottom and tail sides of the entire island. We were given the chance to take photos on every stop but we had to be huddled back after a few minutes.
I am no expert in military tactics but judging on how some of the cannons were concealed, it seems soldiers made a great warfare strategy. I could only imagine how battered the soldiers were with the remaining artillery scarred with visible gun shots. The tour guide said the Japanese troops were heavily armed and the “Fall of Bataan” was inevitable.
The highlight of the tour for me was the stopover at the Corregidor Lighthouse which was heavily damaged during the siege but was reconstructed in the 1950’s and now runs on solar power. Climbing at least 50 steps up to this lighthouse was challenging but the 360 degree view of Corregidor made the effort worthwhile.
Another favorite among visitors is the Pacific War Memorial which is a dome-shaped commemorative altar whose main feature is the oculus on top of the dome which funnels light directly from the sun.
There is also the Malinta Tunnel. Inside the 390-foot tall and 835-foot long tunnel for guests was an audio and video presentation by National Artist and film director Lamberto Avellana and made aesthetically engaging with sculptures by national artist Napoleon Abueva which showed us the most significant events of World War II.
As long as Corregidor stands, the selflessness and heroism of war heroes will never be forgotten.
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