Post by victor on Jan 7, 2008 11:25:28 GMT 8
Thank you everyone for the appreciation. I originally wanted to visit Longoskawayan Point because I've never seen anyone's pictures of it anywhere. Karl told me that it's not accessible. Not wanting to have to rent a boat, I realized I had a way more accessible, more photographable historical location I could go instead, Mabatang.
I'd have wanted to walk along the length of the road heading west away from Mabatang to see the adjacent positions that were manned by the 41st Division PA, but we were running out of time. We passed through it coming from the Roman Highway. The area is more pristine with no buildings nor houses. The road also becomes unpaved and may have looked more like the narrow trail to Mt. Natib that it once was.
I also wanted to possibly walk all the way to Calaguiman river but again we didn't have enough time.
As far as the Bataan government is concerned, it so happened that my mother went to high school with the Governor, Enrique Garcia, and is close friends with their family. Later that day, I found myself chatting with the wife of the governor during the Balanga Capitol Christmas party. The wife of the governor apparently is the traditional tourism chairperson of the province. She was very interested in what I went to Mabatang for. I promised to send her material about it. She asked me if there were any markers or memorials there, and pondered it when I said I didn't see any.
She said they're also reviewing options on what can be done about the monument in the town of Layac where Filipino soldiers are depicted in action. The problem with the monument is that the Filipino soldiers are sporting Japanese helmets (talk about faux pas).
They're also soliciting more material to add to the Mt. Samat shrine's museum display. So there is genuine interest by the gov't in keeping the memory alive.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about the people in the PI too busy eking out a living to care about the history. I guess that's where we come in. The farmer who tills the portion of the Mabatang fields I visited now knows what happened there and why he digs up spent cartridges once in a while. Maybe he'll take even better care of the crops to "earn" what his forefathers and fellow countrymen "bought" for him.
-victor
I'd have wanted to walk along the length of the road heading west away from Mabatang to see the adjacent positions that were manned by the 41st Division PA, but we were running out of time. We passed through it coming from the Roman Highway. The area is more pristine with no buildings nor houses. The road also becomes unpaved and may have looked more like the narrow trail to Mt. Natib that it once was.
I also wanted to possibly walk all the way to Calaguiman river but again we didn't have enough time.
As far as the Bataan government is concerned, it so happened that my mother went to high school with the Governor, Enrique Garcia, and is close friends with their family. Later that day, I found myself chatting with the wife of the governor during the Balanga Capitol Christmas party. The wife of the governor apparently is the traditional tourism chairperson of the province. She was very interested in what I went to Mabatang for. I promised to send her material about it. She asked me if there were any markers or memorials there, and pondered it when I said I didn't see any.
She said they're also reviewing options on what can be done about the monument in the town of Layac where Filipino soldiers are depicted in action. The problem with the monument is that the Filipino soldiers are sporting Japanese helmets (talk about faux pas).
They're also soliciting more material to add to the Mt. Samat shrine's museum display. So there is genuine interest by the gov't in keeping the memory alive.
I agree with you wholeheartedly about the people in the PI too busy eking out a living to care about the history. I guess that's where we come in. The farmer who tills the portion of the Mabatang fields I visited now knows what happened there and why he digs up spent cartridges once in a while. Maybe he'll take even better care of the crops to "earn" what his forefathers and fellow countrymen "bought" for him.
-victor
