NEWSFLASH

CORREGIDOR 'THE ROCK' NOW SPEAKS OF PEACE AND MEMORIES

Corregidor, June 23, 2000 - Corregidor: Isle of eternal history. He has shape of a giant tadpole made of huge limestone formation. A reminder of a fiery war, Corregidor, popularly known as "The Rock", now speaks of peace and memories.

During the Spanish era, the Rock Island is a signal station where the bonfires set ablaze to announce the coming of a galleon. That was the time the Spanish conquistadores erected a lighthouse on the island.

The American invigorated Corregidor in the early 1900 as a military reservation, which was part of the harbor defenses of Manila and Subic Bay because of its strategic location.

By the time Corregidor fell to the Japanese in 1942, it was so saturated with bombs that the very topography of the island was altered. The jungle was denuded of trees and grass, paved roads disappeared into dust. Landslides made depressions and bomb craters developed into hills.

Indeed Corregidor which received about 3,000 tons of bombs per sq. mile was the most concentratedly bombed island in the southwest Pacific during the World War II.

Corregidor, 26 miles west of Manila, is the largest of several small islands strung between Cavite province and the Bataan Peninsula at the entrance of Manila Bay. It rises 628 feet above sea level with a land area of three-and-a-half sq.miles.

During the Spanish era, all ships entering or leaving the bay were required to stop at Corregidor to have their papers checked. Hence, the name Corregidor, which means "corrector" in Spanish.

Corregidor had a lighthouse and signal station. It also housed a small fishing village, called barrio San Jose, complete with a Catholic church and a one-room schoolhouse run by the clergy. Fortifications has also been established on Corregidor.

When the Americans occupied the island during the Fil-American war they built a convalescent hospital where they housed wounded soldiers. Then in 1906, recognizing the strategic importance of Manila and Manila Bay, the US launched an unprecedented full-scale program--the fortification which would replace the antiquated Spanish guns and make a legend of Corregidor.

By 1922, the island was ringed by 22 seacoast batteries armed with six 12-inch disappearing gun, two late model 12-inch long range guns with an all-around coverage of eight miles or 13 km., two 10-inch and five six-inch disappearing guns, 19 155-mm. tractor drawn guns with capability of 600 yards short of 10 miles or 16 km. and 10 three-inch minefield guns.

An electrically remote-controlled minefield stretching from the island to La Monja, thence to Cochinos Point, Bataan complete the very formidable picture.

Nature had divided Corregidor into five identifiable parts, the highest point of the island, called Topside, is a flat track of land located on the island's "head" that points toward China,. Located here are the Harbor Defense headquarters, Milelong Barracks, senior officers quarter, parade ground, golf course, post hospital and the old Spanish lighhouse.

Topside tapers to a plateau called Middleside. From the Middleside, the terrain slopes steeply downward to Bottomside, where the "Fall of Corregidor" took place.

To the west of Bottomside, a hill rises to 390 feet, called "Malinta". The 835 feet long and 24 feet wide main tunnel with its 24 lateral branches originally meant to be an arsenal and hospital, now stands as a quiet yet resounding monument of the atrocities of several fierce human combats.

Uniquely located beneath the Malinta Hills, this tunnel was an ideal bomb-proof headquarters for the embattled Filipino and American soldiers, and which served as the seat of Philippine Government under then President Manuel Quezon.

The Malinta tunnel has been transformed by the DOT into a light and sound area where visitors can experience the shelling and bombing that took place during the war.

Corregidor War Memorial is on the west side of the island, with a museum of war relics, photographs and military papers, the memorial was built by the US government and completed in 1968 to the tune of US$1.23 million.

Around the island are military tunnels, ruins of massive barracks and rusting armament.

Corregidor Resort now services foreign and local tourists. The Resort comprises 14 air-conditioned cottages and a deluxe cottage for very important persons. The clubhouse features a restaurant and lounge bar and various function rooms at the lower level.

Sun Cruises in tourists and visitors to Corregidor once a day and offers two trips during weekends and holidays.