Melo Villareal
Visiting Palawan Special Battalion WWII Museum, Plaza Cartel, and a whole lot more
Previous Post: Puerto Princesa Heritage Tour Day 1: Visiting Iwahig Prison and Penal Farm
On the first day of our Puerto Princesa Heritage Tour, I, along with other travel writers, visited Iwahig Penal Colony and watched the fireflies light up Iwahig River like the stars in the night sky. On the morning of the second day of our tour, I just rested in the Canvas Boutique Hotel. Our tour on the second day was scheduled to start in the late afternoon, so I spent most of my morning chatting with my travel buddies about the previous day’s tour and looking through the pictures I took.
Microtel Palawan Beach Front
Before lunchtime, we gathered in the lobby to leave for Microtel by Wyndham Puerto Princesa, where we had our lunch. Microtel was a beautiful beachfront resort. It had a peaceful seaside location overlooking the white sand of Emerald Beach.
The restaurant was located beside the hotel’s pool, which made our alfresco lunch even more refreshing. They served us classic Filipino dishes.
Our appetites were boosted by the local kinilaw, which, contrary to common belief, was not passed to us by the Spaniards. Kinilaw has been served on the Filipino dining tables even before the colonizers came.
For our main dish, we had their special Sweet and Sour Prawns—beautifully deep-fried, deveined prawns in sweet and sour sauce. We also had Sinigang na Bulalo for our main dish. It was bulalo with a sour broth akin to sinigang, a twist on the classic bowl of bone broth that I found particularly interesting.
Grilled Squid was also one of our main dishes. The squids were grilled to perfection—they weren’t overcooked, so they weren’t chewy, and the fresh onions, cucumber, and tomato garnish were a perfect combination for the smoky flavor of the seafood.
The restaurant’s uniquely cooked Chicken Adobo was also served to us. Unlike your typical plate of adobo, the restaurant’s version involved removing the chicken’s skin and rolling it with the bone at the center.
To end our lunchtime meal, we had some fresh mangoes and very red slices of watermelon for dessert. We chit-chatted for a while before going back to our hotel.
Later that afternoon, we prepared for our late afternoon tour. At exactly 4 o’clock, we left the hotel for our first stop for the day—Plaza Cuartel. Plaza Cuartel is located on Taft Street. The plaza is a peaceful area that overlooks the blue Palawan Sea on one side and is shaded by trees and a well-maintained landscaped garden on the other. Aside from its aesthetic appeal, however, Plaza Cuartel has deep historical significance. The plaza was an old WWII garrison where 143 American prisoners of war were burned to ashes. Located around the plaza are tarpaulin stands that provide more details about the Plaza, including old photos and other historical information.
Across Plaza Cuartel is the Immaculate Conception Cathedral—a blue Gothic-style church built on a site believed to be where the first mass in Puerto Princesa was held. Walking around the area, despite being a tourist, gave me a sense of its significance. The building looked relatively new and younger than most buildings built during the 1900s, but I felt the antique elegance of the structure.
Our next stop was another historical landmark: Plaza Eulalia, named after Princess Eulalia. The pre-colonial Philippines’ form of government, I recalled, comprised classes, and the Plaza was named after the Queen’s daughter at the time.
Nearby was the Governor’s Residence. We were not able to visit the residence because it was not maintained, but our tour guide told us that the authorities had plans to rehabilitate the place. Our tour guide said that the Governor’s Residence would be transformed into a museum or an event hall in the near future, since it is a tourist attraction and historically significant.
Our final stop—and might I add the highlight—for the day was at the Palawan Special Battalion WWII Memorial Museum. The museum is privately owned and maintained by Higinio Buddy Mendoza, whose guerrilla father was killed by the Japanese forces during the Second World War. Mendoza, with his deep connection to the war during the 1940s, had many interesting war artifacts on display in the museum.
One of the artifacts I found particularly interesting in the museum was an old typewriter used by General Douglas MacArthur. The machine was obviously aged, but the way the museum preserved the artifact was simply amazing. I was almost able to see the little memories contained in each row of the old typewriter’s rusty keys.
The collection of artifacts in the museum included a WWII vehicle, a wide range of vintage guns and ammunition, original and replica military uniforms of WWII veterans from various countries, and those famous paper bills from the Japanese Occupation, the “Mickey Mouse” money.
At one corner of the museum was a list of the names of the 1,000 Palawan guerrilla fighters who belonged to the Special Battalion. The Special Battalion fought against the Japanese soldiers during the 1940s, which I assumed Mendoza’s father belonged to as well. I stood in silence in that corner for a while and inhaled the aura of that old, undying sense of nationalism.
I looked at the walls of the museum one last time before leaving. The walls are simple and old, but they were proud and meaningful. I left the museum with a deeper appreciation of the Filipino guerrillas who fought for our freedom.
It was almost dinnertime when we finished our second day of touring, so we unanimously agreed to have dinner right away. We headed to Le Terrasse Restaurant for dinner.
Many thanks to the Palawan Tourism Council, USAID, Rajah Travel, the Provincial and Puerto Princesa City tourism offices, Canvas Boutique Hotel, and Philippine AirAsia for making this trip possible.
For inquiries about the Puerto Princesa City Heritage Tour Package, you may contact them via email at palawanlibinfo@rajahtravel.com or call them at (632) 894-0886, local 1504. Visit their website at www.palawanliberation.com or follow them on Facebook www.facebook.com/palawanliberation.
To encourage tourists to visit Puerto Princesa City, Philippines, AirAsia operates 5 daily flights from Manila, with promotional fares now available at www.airasia.com. Fly-thru service from Kalibo to Puerto Princesa is also available with a seamless connection via Manila.
NEXT: Puerto Princesa Heritage Tour Day 3: Visiting the Underground River of Puerto Princesa
Puerto Princesa Travel Tour Packages You Should Try
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