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Post by Deleted on Dec 27, 2006 23:42:01 GMT 8
Beautiful pic eXo .... that must have been taken from the "Golden Stairs" or what we now call the "300 STEPS" stairway from Topside to Middleside, with the YMCA building off-frame to the right. I love that route either way (lung-busting ascent or scenic descent) through jungle cover that has evidently outgrown the original vegetation before the war in terms of density and diversity. In my view, Corregidor's ecosystem, if it can be protected and further enriched, shall constitute the primary tourism draw of the island in the future while the war relics and ruins, not lavish monuments, will provide "rewarding discoveries" for adventure and eco travelers.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2006 13:41:15 GMT 8
Yesterday, I read the comments of Undersecretary Jerry Adevoso from an email message that was forwarded to me. In his comments, he raises many points, but I see the need to show other facets of the issue at hand so that others may be more enlightened. His comments are in boldface type, while mine are in regular font. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thank you for your comments.
i am not perturbed in the manner you describe, simply because the comments on alleged desecration of Corregidor seem to be coming from the USA Fil-Am community only.
The article originally came from the Philippines.
And then, again, there's nothing wrong with comments coming only from the Fil-Am community. I think that they have every right to know, to be concerned, and to VOICE their concern.
I am in touch with veterans who visit my office every day, including their umbrella organization, the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, including the National Historical Institute and the National Shrines Service of the Phil. Veterans Affairs Office of the Dept. of National Defense. I also have access to the DOT of course. We have all worked together closely on many veterans events throughout the length and breadth of the Philippines. May I say that nobody here in the Philippines has yet raised an outcry against the desecration alleged in the website.
Is it really necessary to wait for a huge public outcry before one is spurred to action?
The Corregidor Foundation is a very well-respected organization that has done wonders for Corregidor and is looked upon as really caring for Corregidor.
It never fails. Whenever I bring up the issue about these old ruins, someone always says that I'm being negative, and don't recognize the accomplishments of the Corregidor Foundation on the island.
My point is that these accomplishments (road network, monuments, electrification, and other components of infrastructure), already show to all in sundry that indeed, Corregidor Island is a far cry from what it was in three or four decades ago. These improvements are highlighted in travel brochures, video travelogues, and other promotional material disseminated to the public. In cyberspace, there are several websites that showcase Corregidor Island and its structures.
It is a fact that these aforementioned improvements play a key role in making Corregidor a top draw for tourists, and I don't think anyone can or should deny that.
But... that's not the point.
All these accomplishments won't make the Middleside Barracks issue go away.
We can build a mile-high obelisk on Topside that will be visible from the moon, but the Middleside Barracks problem will still be there. -- That is, unless we take "concrete" steps.
While meticulous attention is given to newer structures (Pacific War Memorial, the Eternal Flame, Pacific War Museum, Fil-Am Friendship Memorial, Filipino Heroes' Memorial, etc.), older structures or ruins like the Middleside Barracks, the Senior Officers' Quarters, (and other like them) have been left at the mercy of the elements, and mysterious unseen entities that come to chip away at their concrete structures. If and when you go to Corregidor Island, get a close-up look at these ruins and you'll see for yourself exactly what I mean.
If you venture into the bunkers of Battery Hearn, or some of the rooms in the old Army Hospital, you'll see that they have already begun to be victimized by these mysterious "chippers". Other structures have been "worked on" in varying degrees. As I said, it's only a matter of time before these other structures are worn down as well.
I thus do not find it easy to see that some in the USA have found fault, despite the geographical distance and being prone to inadequate info which may not always be normally corrected even by internet access. the info on the website may just be the opinions of one or a few people, but the issue has already been seemingly blown out of proportion in a premature manner.
This issue is not being blown out of proportion. It just all depends on one's viewpoint.
For people who don't care about trees, chopping down every sapling or mature tree in the Middleside Area probably wouldn't even evoke a yawn, But this same act would be considered outrageous by arboreal conservationists. There are some people who think that clearing ALL the trees in front of the Middleside Barracks would really look nice because it would give an unobstructed view of its twin structures. (Following that line of argument, why not cut all the coconut trees lining Roxas (Dewey) Boulevard, to afford everyone a clearer view of magnificent sunsets?)
Similarly, for some people, the wild idea of completely knocking down Middleside Barracks and erecting an exact replica might sound like a good scheme, but for those who would like to preserve these twin structures for posterity, this idea would be tantamount to desecration.
For some, erecting walkways inside Middleside Barraacks would enhance the island’s ability to attract tourists, but for others, this wouldn't be appropriate or acceptable. Different strokes for different folks. It's as simple as that.
As in all matters related to national and veterans concerns, one must always be very careful about info that is passed around so easily nowadays and that could create wrong impressions unnecessarily.
The pictures of felled trees, tree stumps, jutting iron bars, chipped cement, collapsed structures and scattered debris speak for themselves. They are photographic renditions of facts and extant reality. Any person who views these pictures (or any other photos for that matter) will necessarily have his or her own perception as to what these photos represent or portray.
i will investigate in a neutral manner. if i am wrong about what is reported to be going on in corregidor, i will know in a few days/weeks and be the first to acknowledge this and then try to do something about it from within the national government and the veterans sector here in the Philippines
By the time you get there, it would be too late. They would have cleaned up the mess, and it would all look peachy-dandy. (That's why I took the pictures in the first place) Even before you leave for Corregidor, may I suggest that you find ways to acquire the proper perspective; otherwise, all you'll see is an old, decrepit building, sitting in an area which has been cleared of vegetation.
You need know the whole story in order to be able to make a valid assessment. As a friend of mine said, "You've gotta look under the woodwork". This issue runs very deep, and a superficial ocular inspection, or a drive-by in a tranvia will not -- REPEAT-- will NOT suffice. The same goes for other people who are intending to visit the island.
It is easy for people (specially those who haven’t been to the island in the last twenty years) to be swept away by the grandeur of some monuments, and the breathtaking views that act as colorful backgrounds for them. One such example is the Monument of the Eternal Flame. The lighthouse also affords an awesome view of Manila Bay. Ironically, these scenic vistas work with the visually impressive array of World War II ruins, bunkers and gun emplacements to cast a spell on visitors, so much so that the island’s “other face” (i.e. deteriorating ruins), is easily overlooked.
But if the reports are proven wrong, who will acknowledge the error on the USA side? a website?
I am also surprised, that in spite of my detailed photo-documentation of this Middleside Barracks issue, there still appears to be reason to doubt the accuracy or veracity of my article. This is WYSIWYG - WHAT YOU SEE IS WHAT YOU GET. No trick photography here. All I want to do is make sure that Middleside Barracks and other similar buildings are not allowed to disintegrate. No more, no less.
NOTES: Except for some adjustments on exposure, and some cropping/compression necessary to make the images appropriate for internet transmissions, no digital editing has been done on these pictures.
Most of these shots were taken by my Sony F-828 digital Camera. A few are from my photo archive; these were taken with some of my older film cameras.
An American tourist tagged along with me on Day 2 of my trip, and snapped away merrily with his 1955 vintage Rollei Twin-Lens Reflex Camera. This guy did his shooting in Black & White roll film. So, as you can see, I wasn't shooting pictures alone.
The reason I wanted to document the ongoing "cleanup" was precisely to fix a frame of reference from which we could compare future conditions of the building with. Without a frame of reference to start with, how can we prove if a job has or has not been done well?
The “guardianship” of Corregidor Island is a public trust. And this trust must come with responsibility and accountability.
-april_thunder
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Post by Deleted on Dec 28, 2006 22:02:30 GMT 8
If I recall from the email exchange with the L.A. group, Mr. Adevoso is identified as the Presidential Adviser (or is it Assistant) on Veterans Affairs with the rank of Assistant Secretary which is a notch lower than Undersecretary. The ranks basically distinguish the varying salary levels. So Mr. Adevoso "advises" Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on various matters concerning Filipino veterans, the most allegedly overlooked of whom are World War II vets who, up to know, are still clamoring (even from their death beds) for recognition by and benefits from the United States.
It is very strange, indeed, for Mr. Adevoso to erroneously assume that this issue about the Middleside Barracks emanated from some American or Filipino-American "tourist" who returned to the U.S. and merely uploaded his travel diary on the internet which was subsequently "blown out of proportion." How simplistic. It is very obvious that Mr. Adevoso is not and was not in touch with the Corregidor Foundation (CFI) at all regarding the Middleside Barracks issue, or did not even bother to check with CFI after he received the email from Los Angeles, but rather chose to "shoot from the hip" in his response to said email, portions of which have been addressed by april_thunder in the previous post.
Obviously, Mr. Adevoso does not know that on the very same day, and same hour that april_thunder was at the Middleside Barracks hyperventilating with shock from what he saw was being done to the ruins, 2 phone calls were made by him (april_thunder). One was to someone at the American Chamber of Commerce who subsequently relayed the message to Mrs. Beth Day-Romulo, President of the Corregidor Foundation, Inc. The other phone call was made to me after which I relayed the concern to a friend who works at the office of Tourism Secretary Joseph Durano who in turn immediately called someone directly at the Corregidor Foundation. Presumably, those 2 phone calls must have "rocked" the Rock because that very same afternoon, the Executive Director of CFI sent his assistant to the Corregidor Inn (where april_thunder was staying for the night) with an architectural or building plan of Middleside Barracks to explain to april_thunder what this "clean-up project" is all about. Unfortunately, according to april_thunder, the explanation was unsatisfactory. Thus was born QUO VADIS CORREGIDOR.
So what does this tell us? That Corregidor Foundation itself knows that opposition to the ongoing clean-up project didn't start in the United States because right on Day 1, in Corregidor Island they were already told point-blank "we will oppose this."
And in the light of the growing local as well as international uproar that was sparked by what is considered as "a well-documented report," we have here the Presidential Adviser on Veterans Affairs telling US-based veterans groups that they're either reading some fictional work or plainly hallucinating? even if he said that he will investigate in a neutral manner. Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Wonder which one is being perceived as more CREDIBLE by Corregidor's own stakeholders? Quo Vadis or the Presidential Adviser's response?
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Post by EXO on Dec 30, 2006 6:36:09 GMT 8
I don't want to turn this into a "Planning Seminar", but just because there is no neighbourhood on Corregidor, that does not mean that CFI should not follow normally accepted planning/development/renewal processes so as to seek sympathetic integration and stability with the stakeholders. [Just because there is no physically present neighbourhood, they shouldn't assume they can proceed through a development process that prevents stakeholder foreknowledge.] It should not come as a surprise to those in authority that they need to be aware that it is vital that their planning processes should take into account strategies which involve - if not prior consultation, then at least prior notification to the wide range of stakeholders rather than only those with short-term interests in maximising commercial returns. Those in control of the planning (and governmental) process should not feign surprise that the cat eventually gets out of the bag, and people who have not been told about proposed developments get uppitty. How can any planning process purport to be working to the benefit of stakeholders whilst not consulting those very stakeholders beforehand? Good planning practice is no longer about presenting a community with a series of fait accompli. What should have happened is that the planned redevelopment should have been announced / circulated to stakeholders (e-mail, web page, letters etc.), and a reasonable period given for comments, submissions etc. Then they could have listened very nicely and gone out and done precisely what they wanted. Just because Corregidor is a fiefdom, doesn't make the process of good government of it superfluous. To constrain discussion by denigrating it, or to attacking those who seek to have a public exchange of views, is an arrogance of ill government which needs to be left behind. Discussion should be welcomed. Just my two centavos worth, eXo
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Post by Deleted on Dec 30, 2006 17:30:00 GMT 8
Can't say that any better eXo ....
CFI's problem (and make that the Nat'l. Historical Institute's, the Philippine Tourism Authority's, and the Department of Tourism's as well ... and I'll get to more of this in a later post) can best be described by a line from the 1967 movie Cool Hand Luke starring Paul Newman that crisis PR professionals usually attribute their prognoses to ... the line, spoken by the warden character "Captain, Road Prison 36" played by Strother Martin, says: "What we have here is a failure to communicate."
I hope that it isn't because of an "inability to communicate" or that it deteriorates to a case of "refusal to communicate."
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2006 0:37:45 GMT 8
I am glad to announce that the Corregidor Foundation has responded, albeit after almost two weeks since we brought this issue out to light.
I am posting an article that came out in the December 28, 2006 issue of the Manila Bulletin
[Start of article]
Corregidor ruins are being saved not desecrated
By Beth Day Romulo
AS president of the Corregidor Foundation, I, and our supportive friends from the Fil-Am Memorial Endowment (FAME) have been trying desperately for a dozen years or more to find the necessary funding to shore up the walls of the military barracks buildings on Corregidor Island before they are lost to typhoons, or merely collapse from age and lack of support. We have approached UNESCO three times to no avail. We have made private personal appeals to government agencies here and in the United States, to veterans groups and individuals with influence to no avail. We have taken architects and experts to the sites and received their recommendations but no source of funding materialized. Meanwhile, we lose a few more sections of hallowed walls with each typhoon.
Finally this past year we succeeded in interesting the local government and the Department of Budget released some funds through the National Historical Institute to clean up Middleside Barracks which was hardest hit in the recent typhoons, and shore up the walls so they will not be lost to posterity. When the work is finished, Middleside will be clean and accessible as Topside’s Milelong Barracks which stands in stark grandeur with no trees or underbrush obscuring it.
Unfortunately some well meaning people, unfamiliar with the cleanup project, have mounted a campaign on the Internet to stop the rescue work which they consider a "desecration" of a historic site. This misperception began when workmen were seen using acetylene torches to cut dangerous, dangling wires, with slabs of concrete hanging from them that might well have fallen on tourists heads. The workmen also used the torches to cut newly exposed ends of steel bars, considered equally dangerous. Workers were also, according to the National Historical Institute plan, cutting trees within a safety perimeter of the walls so that if they fall, during typhoons, they won’t bring down more sections of walls with them, which happened recently when five trees were uprooted, taking down sections of walls as they fell. One huge tree, whose roots are entwined within the structure of the barracks was simply topped rather than disturb its roots and the trees lining the road were not touched.
Phase One of the clean-up job was simply cleaning out the typhoon damage, removing dangerous debris and cutting trees close to the walls that threatened further damage. Phase two will include deepening a drainage ditch to prevent soil erosion and the flooding of the ground floor of the buildings, putting stainless steel plates to cover manholes, and a partial shoring up of the weakest posts, walls, floors and ceilings with steel bars that lie flush with interior construction. Phase Three will complete the shoring up and support of the existing walls. With the removal of trees and brush that obscured the actual front of the building, tourists will now have a view of the architectural design which was denied them when they passed in back of the barracks.
What has been and is being done is certainly no desecration of a historic site but simply technical intervention to prevent further deterioration and an attempt to preserve what we have left of the ruins.
I would have appreciated if it our well meaning friends who are trying to stop the rescue of Middleside Barracks would have started their "Save Corregidor" campaign when we needed it, and had helped with the funds. With this cleanup and shoring up operation, Middleside Barracks will look like the memorable Topside Milelong barracks which escaped collapse thus far because there are no trees near it. Eventually, if funding can be found, we hope to shore up and support all the remaining structures on Corregidor, including the hospital and the cinema. Middleside Barracks is an emergency rescue operation.
[end of article]
Please see the posting ( below) for my initial reply -april_thunder
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2006 2:20:44 GMT 8
With all due respect, [1] For almost two hours, I went around the perimeter of BOTH buildings of Middleside Barracks. I do not remember seeing any uprooted trees, or stumps with root systems that had been ripped from the soil. If this had been one small tree, I might have missed it...but FIVE TREES? And big enough to cause the collapse of a section of Middleside Barracks? I don't think I could have missed all that.
If indeed, a large tree had been blown down by the typhoon, and the remains of this tree were removed manually , then there would be physical evidence pointing to this fact, [/b] [2] Neither did I see any holes or depressions in the ground that would have resulted if these trees indeed had been uprooted and fallen on the ruins of Middleside Barracks. What then, caused the collapse? [3] Instead, what I saw were tree stumps (with fully intact root systems) that bore the telltale signs of chainsaw cutting. These trees fell because they were CUT, and NOT BLOWN DOWN.
[/b] These statements are based on my personal, on-the-spot, experience, as backed up by my photo-documentation.I still trying to understand why the foundation is so insistent on attributing the collapse of sections of Middleside Barracks to these so-called falling trees. I shall cover more points in my next post. There. I'll be asking some probing questions about the building renovation, and how the iron bars extracted from the ruins are being accounted for. ;DAnd oh, yes... I almost forgot.... They say that they're only lopping off the tops of the banyan trees. I beg to disagree. In this photo, we can see two trees being "worked on". Their crowns (leafy portions) have already been chopped off from the top, and you can clearly see light-colored places where the cuts on their roots are being made. I don't know much about pruning banyan trees, but my common sense tells me that these tree are goners! I shall be watching their remains with great interest in the next few months. -april_thunder
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2006 10:55:07 GMT 8
Below is my response to the column of Beth Day-Romulo, President of the Corregidor Foundation, Inc. (CFI) in the Dec. 28 issue of the Manila Bulletin. Email was sent to the newspaper: 30 December 2006 Dear Editor:
This is in response to Beth Day-Romulo’s column “Corregidor ruins are being saved not desecrated” (The Manila Bulletin Online, December 28, 2006).
I am familiar with the “Save Corregidor” internet campaign and how it came about. Mrs. Romulo has branded the campaign as a “misperception” on the part of some “well-meaning people unfamiliar with the (Middleside Barracks) clean up project.” Maybe it is, but that’s because the Corregidor Foundation, Inc. (CFI) has failed miserably to communicate with its numerous stakeholders what it has been doing, as well as what it has failed to do (like raise much-needed funds for conservation and preservation projects).
What is however cause for deeper concern, especially among us environmental groups, is Mrs. Romulo’s wholesale condemnation of trees as the culprits behind the destruction of the remaining war relics in Corregidor, specifically the historic Middleside Barracks. Mrs. Romulo said that the clean-up project as is being undertaken by the National Historical Institute calls for “cutting trees within a safety perimeter of the walls so that if they fall, during typhoons, they won’t bring down more sections of walls with them, which happened recently when five trees were uprooted, taking down sections of walls as they fell.” This is nothing short of misguided and borders on the ridiculous.
The website campaign called “Quo Vadis Corregidor?” which can be accessed at www.corregidor.org/quo_vadis_corregidor/quo_vadis_corregidor_01.htm posted photographs of a number of beautiful young as well as full-grown trees around the ruins that were mercilessly felled by chainsaws. The eyewitness account of the aftermath of this “Massacre at Middleside,” however, did not find the five uprooted trees that Mrs. Romulo claims fell on the building. On the other hand, one photograph suggests that a portion of the building fell on a tree that was subsequently chainsawed. So I wonder if Mrs. Romulo has personally seen the photos, much less been to the site.
Why CUT those trees, including a whole bamboo grove by the main road that would not even come close to the building if and when they are toppled over. These poor trees wouldn't have grown huge and tall if they can easily be toppled by a storm in the first place. As of record, Corregidor suffered only 1 direct hit and 1 near hit by a storm in the past 10-12 years, including Typhoon Milenyo recently, and yet those trees stayed up and grew. They were cut AFTER Typhoon Milenyo hit, meaning to say they didn't topple over as evidenced by firmly embedded root systems. These trees should have been left to grow and only PRUNED to reduce wind resistance about a week to a few days of an impending direct hit (70-100% probability). Now I don't know if the CFI even checks weather websites for forecasts, storm risks and strike probablilites as disaster management protocol, if ever they have any.
Then there's the case of the beautiful banyan trees that have taken root atop the ruins. They chopped the crowns and branches off and are stripping the roots off the structures for heaven's sake! Reason given: they keep moisture levels high in the buildings and render them unstable. Well, there's another school of thought -- banyan trees actually reinforce and help keep the feeble structure stay up. Besides, these banyan trees have been growing there for the past 40-50 years and the structures are still up. In Angkor Wat in Cambodia, giant banyan trees have been growing on the temples for many centuries and the temples are still there. They help enhance the aesthetic and tourism appeal of the heritage/archeological sites and have inspired countless works of art.
What Mrs. Romulo failed to cite in her column is the TRUTH behind why the Middleside Barracks are caving in to passing typhoons, mild earthquakes and even the gentlest of breeze all these years. Intact sections of Middleside Barracks and many other buildings in Corregidor that have withstood relentless shelling during World War II have actually suffered far worse damage AFTER the war until today due to illegal, clandestine “SCRAPPING” activities on the island. This is the process of chipping away solid concrete posts, walls, floors and ceilings to get to the metal innards, the rebars which are sold as scrap iron “por kilo.” This is the REAL REASON, the continuing desecration of these historic buildings that the guardians of Corregidor have failed to stop and/or have condoned ever since the Rock was under the administrative control of the military establishment. To blame the poor trees for the damage to the ruins, even if they did fall on them, would be barking up the wrong trees.
Now, if local environmentalists raised howls of protest when the MMDA moved to extricate a couple of trees from the traffic control island along Katipunan road across the Ateneo to give way to an infrastructure improvement project (and even launched a press campaign to save them), they should be doubly horrified by the Middleside Massacre of trees by the CFI and the NHI.
It is time to really “communicate” with your many stakeholders, Mrs. Romulo, and you will get the support that you need. We all love Corregidor.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2007 11:19:09 GMT 8
People have been asking why we've been so concerned about this renovation job on Middleside Barracks. So finally, here it is: Before a building with structural problems is renovated, a thorough study of it is strengths and weaknesses is normally made. Armed with this information, the project proponents can then examine their options regarding the architectural and engineering aspects of the project. To say that Middleside Barracks has structural problems is an understatement. In this particular case, where a building in such delicate condition is involved, common sense dicates that extra care be taken in doing any work on it. It then alarms me to see ordinary workmen cutting and extracting iron bars from the ruins. Is there a detailed plan that shows these workmen armed with acetylene torches and jungle bolos what parts of the building to work on? When I was there watching them, I did not see them referring to any plan or diagram. They seemed to be free to do their "own thing" and cut away whatever they thought was (as the CFI calls them) "dangerous, dangling wires, with slabs of concrete hanging from them", or "newly exposed ends of steel bars", In other words, do these workmen know specifically which bars to cut or not to cut? Assuming they know this, do they know which portions of the buildings are load-bearing, and should therefore not be touched? With the kind of free rein given to these workers, I am very worried that their actions can only lead to further weakening of the structure. I have shown photos of load-bearing pillars whose steel bars are already exposed and splayed, and therefore can be considered as "jutting out" or "dangerous". Are these workmen supposed to cut these too? What I'm driving at is the fact that this kind of "clearing" or "cleaning" work touches on the structural aspects of the renovation, and should NOT be done as part of any INITIAL work. Another aspect that worries me is that in the absence of any detailed plan or report that shows which parts of the building have these "dangerous" iron bars, Without this plan, it will then be difficult to account for the number of iron bars extracted from the ruins. I really think a detailed accounting of these iron bars is in order. I'm very curious to find out how many have been cut, and see where they are being stored. And if there is such a place, is this place secure? What we don't want to happen is for scrappers to come in the dead of night and take these iron bars to never-never land. To keep this from happening, these workmen should be keep be keeping track of any materials extracted from the project site, and giving a daily report to the Corregidor Foundation, which would consolidate this data. The iron bars could then be stored in a safe place. (I do hope that they just don't leave these iron bars scattered around the work site!) - april_thunder
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Post by Deleted on Jan 2, 2007 14:03:58 GMT 8
I posted our "savecorregidor" appeal to one message board, and got this interesting reply from a member who calls himself "brndirt1" ;D . It's so interesting that I'd like to share it with our fellow members here at the CT@N forum.
Here then is his reply:
Posted: Jan 1, 2007 10:31 AM As the Philippines have been...
autonomous since after WW2, what they choose to do with their own territory, is their own choice.
If they cannot maintain an area, or historic site, due to economics it is no-one else's business. A nation can only do what it can afford to do. History itself or "historic" sites are only worthwhile to a few (generally cheap skate historians), not the economy of the nation in which they reside.
Sounds "cold", but in reality it is simply pragmatic. Plus it is the government of the Philippines, not the WW2 "buffs", "battle re-enactors" or "paint-ballproponents" upon which the final use of Corregidor Island will be made. America has shopping malls enfringing on Civil War battle fields, simple economics not respect for history are the deciding factors. No matter what those who respect history wish, we don't pay the bills, they do.
-- Happy Trails, Clint
Here's my response:
Posted: Jan 1, 2007 9:20 PM (3 of 3)
Clint, thanks for your input. You are right about the attitude of some governments.
In many places in the world, these are two great problems that historical and culture-rich places face: The apathy of those who are ignorant of the value of their cultural heritage, and the seeming arrogance of governments or public institutions- the very entities under whose trust and care these monuments have been placed under. Let's not forget World War II veterans, the ones whose blood and guts many governments owe their existence to.
Now I don't know if you're talking about YOUR own government, but MY government listens when its citizens speak out. (It might take some time, but they eventually do listen). This is why in the area of tourism, the Philippine government considers tourists and other stakeholders as its partners. For a fact, we wouldn't even be wasting our time if we thought that they wouldn't listen.
Corregidor does not depend solely on a government-allocated "stipend". Part of its funding comes from income generated from the influx of tourists, a large number of which INCLUDE (WW2 Veterans and their descendants, WW2 buffs, Adventure Gamers, Paintball aficionados, bird watchers, hikers, backpackers, etc., and this money helps maintain the island. So I beg to disagree that these groups "don't pay the bills"., because in fact, THEY DO.. Tourism is a major industry here in the Philippines, and to downplay its importance is to deny economic reality.
Just because we seem to be critical of some of the Corregidor Foundation's particular actions, doesn't mean that we do not support its overall mission.. However, we realize that a degree of fine-tuning and realignment to recent global trends is necessary to help the foundation accomplish this mission.
That is why we believe that at times, it becomes imperative for private citizens like us to point out certain things that might at first glance seem like undue criticism, but actually, it is our desire to help the island, (and therefore, the Foundation itself) that serves as our great motivation.[/i]
In a stricter sense, governments don't actually "own" these places. These are public areas which have been declared as special protected zones. As a consequence, those charged with the stewardship or guardianship of these areas can be held publicly accountable. It is taxapayers' money that keeps them going, so ordinary citizens do have a say.
Moreover, Corregidor Island's value extends beyond its boundaries. It is recognized as a place with international historical significance.
The exception, of course are countries which are under dictatorial rule where citizens don't have basic freedoms - places where even "cheapskate" historians (no such thing here, by the way) can't speak their minds, because history and its writing are not based on fact, but rather, what the state says happened in the past. A few decades ago, there was a guy here who thought that he didn't have to listen to what people said. In 1986, he was forced to flee after these people decided that they had had enough.
Lastly it this very freedom that these World War II veterans fought for that is now being used to spread the word about this necessity to help save Corregidor Island.
-april_thunder
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