Sanctuary of a Historic Past 

The scenic beauty of the island stands in striking contrast to its historic past as a World War Two battleground.

By: Rodolfo C. Estimo Jr.

 

Corregidor Island is indeed one of the most popular tourist destinations in the Philippines. Located 42 miles from Manila, the island is often described as the “ultimate tourist destination” in the Philippines. It is a must-see for tourists seeking not only spellbinding scenery, fun and excitement but also communion with nature and a rendezvous with history.

As you go around the island, you will be gripped by its captivating scenery – the vast and endless waters of the China Sea to the west and the Pacific Ocean to the east. From your hotel window, you could gaze at the calm, endless and shimmering seawaters with inner serenity. You may well feel a silent and resurging happiness welling up from the heart.
The lush verdant scenery of well-manicured parks and the buildings developed by the government has a calming effect on the nerves, akin to what one may call “a celebration of life.” One would never picture this place to have been a bloody battleground where Filipino-American soldiers and Japanese troops bitterly fought during World War Two.

Strategic Importance

Also called The Rock but officially named Fort Mill, Corregidor is shaped like a tadpole, with its tail running eastward. Along with Caballo Island, the nine-square-kilometer Corregidor partially blocks the entrance to Manila Bay, and is thus of strategic importance.
The Corregidor Historical Society makes a mention of this fact: “If Manila Bay, one of the finest natural harbors in Asia, was a bottle, then the island fortress of Corregidor was its cork. Whoever controlled Corregidor controlled Manila Harbor. That was Gen. MacArthur’s theory.”
Corregidor also creates a northern and southern entrance to Manila Bay. Its bulbous head, which points towards the South China Sea, rises prominently a large flat plateau called Topside. This was the nerve center of the island and here was located the headquarters, barracks of enlisted personnel, officers quarters, underground ordnance shops, the traditional parade grounds, and the bulk of the batteries that constituted the strength of Corregidor.
Seemingly vintage World War trams await visitors who wish to survey the various corners of the island. The ‘trams’ are actually shuttle buses running on rubber tires and gasoline, as against the erstwhile trams that ran on electricity and moved on metal tracks.

Main Attractions

Among the sights worth seeing is the Malinta Tunnel, which was the last stronghold of the joint Philippine and American military prior to the Japanese takeover during the war. An audio-visual presentation of the events that took place on the island depicts the departure of General Douglas MacArthur with his family for Australia and the evacuation of Philippine President Manuel L. Quezon and his family to the unoccupied areas of the Philippines and then to exile in the United States.
Completed in 1922, the tunnel had 24 laterals deep within Malinta Hill. This underground complex served as the seat of the Philippine Commonwealth during the siege. The complex includes a 1,000 bed hospital, fuel tanks, communication and cryptography sections, sleeping quarters and administrative offices. It was designed to be practically self-ventilating. A system of air shafts contributed to the natural ventilation.
The Filipino Heroes Memorial, which is one of the most recent additions to Corregidor, is another attraction. This 6,000 sq. meter complex, inaugurated by President Fidel V. Ramos on August 28, 1992, has 14 murals depicting heroic battles fought by Filipinos right from the 15th century. It was designed by Architect Francisco Manosa, while the murals and a statue of a Filipino guerrilla, were sculpted by Manuel Casas.
There are also several monuments, most notable of which is the Pacific War Memorial with its Dome of Peace, the Monument of the Eternal Flame, the Filipino-American Friendship Memorial, the Japanese Garden of Peace, the Wainright Memorial, as well as the statues of Manuel L. Quezon, Sergio Osmena and Douglas MacArthur. You can also drop by the Pacific War Museum and feast your eyes on relics from that bygone era.
Because of its inherent terrain features and structure, Corregidor Island is a veritable theme park. It has lots of open spaces, and lends itself well to educational tours, hikes, nature appreciation, cycling, photographic jaunts and other outdoor adventure activities.

Popular Landmarks

The island fortress has several other landmarks which have drawn many visitors, both local and foreign.
The Lighthouse, which was originally built by the Spaniards in 1836, is one of Corregidor’s oldest landmarks. It is located at Topside and is 628 feet above sea level.
Topside and Middleside are like a virtual museum and include the remains of soldiers and officers. Middleside is a small plateau that interrupts the upward slope from Bottomside to Topside, and was the location of barracks of enlisted men, a hospital, quarters for non-commissioned officers, a service club and two schoolhouses – one for the children of Filipino soldiers and the other for the children of American troops.
President Manuel L. Quezon Park stands at the Lorcha Dock ruins at Bottomside, which is the lower part of the island and is the neck that connects the tail and head of the island. South of Bottomside is Barrio San Jose (near what was Navy Beach). On the north is what was Army Dock, with its large piers, and east of Bottomside is Malinta Tunnel.
Mile-Long Barracks, which is roofless and skeletal, but is majestic under a summer sky. It has become a powerful icon that brings to mind haunting images of Corregidor and World War II. This 1,520-foot, three-level building is reflective of architectural designs used by the Americans during the late 1920s and 1930s. It is located at Topside section and aligned along the East to West axis.

Battle Memories

The Battery Way and Battery Geary are other attractions that bring back memories of the war. Battery Way was named in honor of the Coast Artillery Corps of the US Army, which along with Battery Geary, was the mainstay of the Corregidor Garrison during the Japanese invasion. Its mortars, capable of a 360-degree traverse, could fire on land targets on Bataan. They brought the most destruction on Japanese positions during the attempted landings on the southwest coast of Bataan late in January to the middle of February 1942.
Battery Geary was a battery of six 13-ton, 12-inch mortars. This battery, when pinpointed by the Japanese, was subjected to heavy shelling. One direct hit by a 240 mm shell, which detonated the magazines of Battery Geary in May 1942, proved to be the most crippling shot during the entire siege of Corregidor. This shelling tossed mortars around, one to a distance of 150 yards; another was blown through three feet of reinforced concrete wall into the adjoining powder magazine of Battery Crockett. Large chunks of steel were blown as far as the Malinta Tunnel, killing 27 of the battery crew instantly.
The awesome artilleries of Battery Crockett, Battery Hearn and Battery Grubbs are also worth seeing, besides the ruins of the Mile Barracks, Fort Mills Headquarters, Middleside Barracks, Officer’s Row on Cheney Drive and the North and South Docks.
During its heyday, the island had its own nine-hole golf course, officer’s club, commissary, ice plant, and a full-sized cinema. Two large reservoirs with a combined capacity of four million gallons took care of the water requirements of the island. A tram network made movement easy.
It is also worthwhile visiting the war-ravaged buildings, which have not been restored but have instead been left in reverence to the Filipino and American soldiers who died there. Bomb craters, bullet holes, pulverized concrete and twisted metal, stand mute witnesses to the heroism of the gallant defenders of Corregidor – a moving story of a war that claimed so many lives.
There are several cottages and hotels on the island where tourists could check in. Guest service facilities include swimming pool, tennis and basketball courts, poolside shower, copying and fax machines, laundry service, gift shop, and transportation and room service.
From Corregidor Island, you can gaze with awe and wonder at the incomparable spectacle of Manila Bay. On a clear day, you can practically see the Metro Manila skyline.

Manila Bay

Manila Bay is in itself a tourist destination. Tourists going to Corregidor could combine their trip with a visit to Manila Bay. Like Corregidor, it boasts fantastic scenery as well as an enviable place in history. It has a beautiful sunset that’s world famous. Go there late in the afternoon and its crimson spectacle evokes a mixture of varied emotions: Excitement due to its crimson color, or several deep purplish reds, and somberness over the lingering darkness. The darkening twilight inevitably conjures up notions, or images, that are associated with something that is sad: Loss of a loved one, betrayal and infidelity, cruelty and death.
Manila Bay jogs the memory of a historical event that’s no less significant than the escape from Corregidor of MacArthur on March 12, 1942 on orders of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. It was there that Commodore George Dewey destroyed the Spanish Navy. With the receipt of a cable from Secretary of the Navy Long, announcing the declaration of war between the United States and Spain, Dewey sailed from Mirs Bay, near Hong Kong, for the Philippines with seven heavily armed ships.
In the early morning hours of May 1, 1898, his fleet entered Manila Bay almost undetected by the Spanish shore batteries on Corregidor and Bataan. Dewey sailed straight toward Manila Bay in the hope of finding Admiral Patricio Montojo’s fleet, which was near Sangley Point in Cavite.
In the dawn’s light Dewey saw the outlines of the Spanish ships far to his back and immediately ordered his men to turn back in the direction of Sangley Point. On the bridge of his flagship, Olympia, Dewey calmly estimated the distance between the two fleets and when he thought that his guns could hit the enemy ships effectively, he turned to the captain of Olympia and said calmly: “You may fire when you’re ready, Gridley.”
The naval battle that followed was one-sided; in fact, it was a massacre. While it is true that the Spanish ships outnumbered those of the Americans, the former were, nevertheless, poorly armed. All in all, the American fleet had more tonnage than the flotilla fleet. At 12:30 p.m., the destruction of Montojo’s fleet was complete. The Spaniards, in the face of absolute defeat, hoisted the white flag in Cavite in token surrender.
In the vicinity of Manila Bay is the sprawling Cultural Center Complex (CCP). There you can find the Design Center of the Philippines, the Folk Arts Center, and Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), where prestigious meetings, conventions and conferences attended by prominent world figures are held. The Film Center is also there but it has been closed. In the area you can also find the Westin Philippine Plaza, which is overlooking the Manila Bay.
Not far there is the huge Mall of Asia owned by the Filipino-Chinese magnate Henry Sy of SM fame. At the Mall of Asia is a restaurant from where you could also have a panoramic view of the spectacular sunset of Manila Bay. This and the CCP Complex were constructed on a reclaimed area of Manila Bay.

How to Get There

Take a boat at a wharf off the Philippine International Convention Center (PICC) and Roxas Boulevard. The departure area is, in fact, part of Manila Bay. For bookings, you may contact Sun Cruises (http://www.philtravelcenter.com/bataan-corregidor).
The passengers are attended to with unfailing hospitality. The boat trip itself is exciting. On a holiday and not worrying about work, you feel an inner serenity that keys up the mind for relaxation and introspection. You either loll on your couch or go to the bridge or viewing deck and enjoy the spectacle of the bay; or simply observe other boats headed in different directions, ocean-going vessels sitting like grim sentinels on the bay’s calm waters, and shrieking birds on flight under a cerulean sky.
Gradually, the island fortress heaves into view and the boat slows down as it approaches the wharf after an 80-minute travel. After filing out of the boat, you can see the shore towns of Naic in Cavite on one side and Mariveles on Bataan on the other. It was where the historic ‘Death March’ began during the war.