MT. SAMAT WAR MEMORIAL CROSS. The towering War Memorial Cross at the Shrine of Valor in the historic Mt. Samat in Pilar, Bataan was illuminated anew on Tuesday (December 10, 2019). The ceremonial lighting aims to highlight the historical value of the Mt. Samat National Shrine. (Photo by Ernie Esconde)
PILAR, Bataan -- The towering War Memorial Cross at the Shrine of Valor in the historic Mt. Samat here was relighted Tuesday evening to make it visible across Manila Bay during the night.
“This is another historic event in Mt. Samat Shrine of Valor. We will illuminate the second largest memorial cross in the world in making (it) visible across Manila Bay,” said Francis Initorio, administrator of the Mt. Samat Flagship Tourism Enterprise.
He said the lighting will help promote the heritage site and encourage tourists to explore the new development in the shrine site, including the recently launched underground museum augmented reality exhibit.
“The ceremonial lighting aims to highlight the historical value of the Mt. Samat National Shrine in time for the visit of delegates and tourists from the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games participating countries,” Initorio said.
“The Mt. Samat Memorial Cross aesthetic lights will also serve as a remembrance for the people who served in World War II,” he added.
Pocholo Paragas, chief operating officer of the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA), wanted the huge cross to be visible any time of the day.
“We want to have an iconic structure where a landmark of Mt. Samat can be seen to have a ray of hope because of the hardships suffered by the place that is why it became a shrine,” he said.
He said they timed the lighting with the SEA Games.
He said after the games, families of delegates and athletes and even the athletes themselves will find time to visit some places.
“Sa pag-ikot nila sa Clark ang makikita, commercial; sa Subic nandoon ang mga sports. Sa Mt. Samat, history. Malaking bagay ang history ng Bataan at Mt. Samat sa Pilipinas (When they roam around Clark what they can see is commercial. In Subic that is where the sports are. In Mt. Samat, it is history. The history of Bataan and the Mt. Samat plays a big part in the Philippines),” Paragas said.
He said TIEZA has many plans for Mt. Samat like the lighting of the dark road, construction of needed infrastructures and putting up of a locator’s site for business.
Retired Brig. General Restituto Aguilar, chief of Veterans Memorial and Historical Division of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office, said he could not remember until when the cross was lighted after its construction was completed in 1970.
He said he was assigned in Bataan as an Army officer and he had not seen the cross illuminated.
“This moment is very historic. This is our offering to those who sacrificed here during the times of war. Bataan is so famous in history not only in the Philippines but also in the whole world,” Aguilar said in Tagalog.
TIEZA records showed that the construction of the War Memorial Cross under the late President Ferdinand Marcos began on April 14, 1966, and was completed and opened in 1970.
It was made of steel and reinforced concrete finished with chipped granolithic marble. It is 92 meters high, 27 meters long and 5.5 meters wide. (PNA)
