Corregidor Conquistadors

Corregidor Conquistadors (August 16, 2009)

For someone who loves to travel, Corregidor is one of those places that I've always wanted to visit. Also, I've been exposed to everything "military" since I was a child, and I knew that Corregidor would have a lot of military artifacts. It also played a big part in Philippine history, and as a history buff I've always wanted to visit it at least once in my life.

Corregidor is actually quite easy to go to coming from Manila, so we finally decided to visit Corregidor for my parents' 23rd wedding anniversary. Needless to say, I ended up loving everything about Corregidor. I loved the history, I loved the ruins, I loved the canons, I loved the manicured lawns and pretty trees, I loved  the San Francisco-ish trams, I loved the tunnels, and I especially loved the feeling of patriotism that it gives.

H I S T O R Y   R E V I E W

Tadpole-shaped island

To appreciate Corregidor, first we need to review why it's such a significant part of Philippine history. If you look at the map, Corregidor is actually a tadpole-shaped island located at the mouth of Manila Bay. It has Bataan to its left and Cavite to its right. 

Due to this very strategic position, Corregidor was used as a checkpoint for vessels entering the bay during the Spanish and American occupations ('corregidor' comes from the Spanish 'corregir', or 'to correct'). Corregidor also became the headquarters of Gen. MacArthur and the Allied forces. It was also the seat of the Philippine Commonwealth Government.

Aside from all of this, perhaps the most famous historical event that's connected to this island is "The Fall of Corregidor," which happened on May 6, 1942. This event marked the day the American forces finally succumbed to the Japanese. Corregidor was the last stronghold of the joint Philippine-American military forces in the country, and with its fall, the Japanese occupation of the Philippines thus began.

Ferry ride to Corregidor Island

G E T T I N G   T H E R E

To get to Corregidor, we had to go to the Sun Cruises office in Roxas Boulevard. They offered a one-day Corregidor tour, and this included the round trip ferry transfers, a guided tour around the island, and a buffet lunch. The ferry left Manila at around 8AM, and by a few minutes past 9 we were already in Corregidor.

Going around Corregidor on a tram

I S L A N D   T O U R

When we arrived at Corregidor Island, I didn't know what to expect. I didn't know how the island tour was going to be done, but to my pleasant surprise we were asked to board these trams, which gave us enough shade but still allowed us to marvel at our surroundings.

We had a couple of stops around the island, but during the entire drive we would clearly see the surrounding water and the view was just picture-perfect. It was a bright sunny day as well, so this only added to the beauty of the scenes.

"I shall return."

Our first stop was the Lorcha Dock, which was Gen. Arthur MacArthur's departure point when he left the country for Australia. This is also where he uttered the now-famous phrase "I shall return." Due to the significance of the place, there's a monument dedicated to Gen. MacArthur that reenacts this historical scene. 

The mural up close

After this short stop we got in the tram and proceeded to the Filipino Heroes Memorial. The memorial was inaugurated in 1992 by then President Fidel V. Ramos, so it's a fairly recent addition to Corregidor Island. The memorial's aim is to pay tribute to the Filipino heroes that fought for the country since the 15th century up until today.

The Filipino guerilla

To pay tribute to the heroism of the Filipinos, there were 14 murals that depicted historic battles fought all over the country. Examples of these battles are the Battle of Mactan, the battle fought by Diego and Gabriela Silang in Ilocos, and even the Philippine Revolution. The murals were beautifully crafted by Manuel Casas, and it was a great alternative to a classroom discussion on the history of the Philippines. 

In the same memorial we found a statue of "The Filipino Woman" as well as of the Filipino guerilla, to recognize their bravery and the fact that they were instrumental to the revolution as well.

The Japanese goddess of peace

After the Filipino Heroes Memorial, we passed by the Japanese Friendship Monument and the Japanese Garden of Peace. This was an interesting part of the island, because the garden was situated on top of a hill and it included a shrine (of the Japanese goddess of peace), a praying area, as well as a small pavilion with artifacts, photographs, and other Japanese memorabilia. 

T H E   M A L I N T A   E X P E R I E N C E

Ruins inside the tunnel

The next stop on our island tour was the Malinta Tunnel. The Malinta Tunnel is significant because it served as the last stronghold of the combined forces of the Philippines and the United States during the war. It was initially constructed as a storage space and a personnel bunker, but it also served as a 1,000-bed hospital for those who were injured and sick during the war. The main tunnel itself was still passable, but there were some parts of the tunnel that contained ruins and which were no longer accessible to the public.

Part of the lights and sounds show

The highlight of the tunnel though is "The Malinta Experience," which is an audio-visual presentation written and directed by national artist Lamberto V. Avellana. It was this wonderful lights and sounds show that welcomed us to the tunnel and talked about the history of Corregidor and the Malinta Tunnel in particular. As the presentation moved along, we were also instructed to walk further and look at the particular part of the tunnel that was being discussed. There were statues of soldiers and historic figures as well, and part of the lights and sounds presentation was a portrayal of what their conversations would have been at that time. It was a very interesting experience.

T O U R   C O N T I N U A T I O N

The old barracks

After The Malinta Experience we paused for lunch, but soon after we proceeded to the afternoon part of our island tour. First we visited the ruins of the old barracks used by the soldiers. The war-ravaged ruins were not fixed and were left as they were, because they represent the Filipino and American soldiers who died during that time. 

Specifically, we got to see the Middleside Barracks up close, but there were a lot of other ruins that dotted the area. It was quite an experience to see these ruins, because we never really get to see many ruins in the Philippines. Also, there's something about ruins that fascinate me, because somehow there's beauty in the fragments and the pieces.

Beauty in ruins

Pacific War Memorial

Next we got to visit the Pacific War Memorial, which was completed in 1968 and which is dedicated to the Filipino and American soldiers who fought during the war. Our last stop was the Corregidor lighthouse, which we had to climb to the very top. By this time we were already pretty tired but we climbed up anyway. 

All in all, we really enjoyed this Corregidor experience. It was a good way to reorient ourselves with the history of the country, and the ruins that we found in the island were just so interesting to behold. Aside from the main stops of the tour, all around the island were canons, guns, bomb holes, and other such attractions that make Corregidor an experience unlike any other. 

One of the canons around the island

I said before that I've always wanted to explore the world. In a way, going to Corregidor is one step closer to that goal. After all, before traveling around the world, traveling around the Philippines should be my priority.

Corregidor Island, check!