FORT SANTIAGO: Rampart of Valor, Sentinel of Freedom

(Published in This Week In Manila in the early 90s

and posted in Pensieve Moments in October 2010)

A strange melancholy feeling grips whoever enters there hallowed grounds. A plaintive cry: bewailing uncertainties, apprehensions, fear of tortures, of reprisals, fear of being given away by one’s own countrymen, a fear of death (wondering which fear is greater, that of more torture, or death?), ultimately, fear of fear itself. The pain that is felt is almost crystal clear, unique and yet almost incomprehensible … so far off the beaten path of ordinary human emotions that some find it difficult to recognize it as the stirrings of nationalism. An almost sepulchral silence pervades. One feels a sensation of loss so keen … as a susurration from the common grave of martyrs and conquerors is almost palpable in the soothing breeze. The martyrs would probably readily admonish us for the frustrating realities of our times, while the conquerors would spite us for failing to learn the nuances of lessons from out past.

Steeped in history, wrought in volcanic stones, awash with the blood of the brave and the daring … these words, whilst they describe the importance of Fort Santiago in our country’s history, will not suffice to describe the multi-dimensional worth of this rampart that serves as a sentinel of our search for freedom and democracy. Perhaps no other place in our history is as loaded with significance and respectability. One who knows his history cannot but have a spontaneous affinity with this environment … erstwhile palisades of Rajah Soliman, bastion of Spanish dominion for almost four hundred years, testatrix of Japanese atrocities, for forty years a mute witness to a lopsided friendship with the Americans.

For some time, Fort Santiago was but a fascinating detritus of volcanic stones that was the focus of a dedicated restoration effort, a proud testament to the courage of a proud race. Unfortunately to others in contemporary times it is but a trysting place where more than just engagement rings are exchanged

Who would have the guts to say that one knows Fort Santiago like the palm of thy hands? It would be tantamount to blasphemy, the treasure trove of history that it is can never be known that intimately. Not even to survivors of the holocaust that continues to haunt the pride, conscience and memories of those who lived to recount their gruesome experiences. If the volcanic stones could only speak. Be that as it may, Fort Santiago is a Pandora’s Box of stories about incarcerations, tortures and privations of the will and the spirit.

Likened to the “black hole of Calcutta”, the low-ceilinged dungeons zapped the lives of countless individuals whose collective cries must have reverberated across the fields like fusillades of mortars and the steady rat-tat-tat of machinegun fire as they drowned with the rising tide of the Pasig River, completely engulfing the low-ceilinged dungeon that was their last vista of their beloved land.

A dreaded prison throughout the Spanish regime, Fort Santiago stolidly embraced the countless revolutionaries that were held captive in its bowels. The fort became an infamous concentration camp during World War II wherein hundreds of famous personalities and thousands of nameless others were incarcerated. Gallant men who rode the slow swell if impatience, the rending impatience of waiting for freedom … the horrible doubt that it may never come after all. Some of them never saw the light of freedom shine but their supreme sacrifice ensured it. With growling bantam rooster aplomb and not much else in terms of firepower they stood up to the enemies even as the immediate future seemed bleak, with little to hope for and everything to dread.

Now, we get nostalgia constipation from people who masquerade as heroes who often put a halo over their heads, a fixture that does not belong there. It simply proves that the difference between a rebel and a patriot depends on who is in power at the moment.

It has been a long time and we’ve already covered a lot of distance. Our erstwhile enemies are now our allies as we collectively renounce war. The world has shrunk in terms of our global efforts to reach out and co-exist under the mantles of peace and brotherhood.

The neglected heap of volcanic stones that was Fort Santiago has been transformed into a legacy, a monument to our proud race—a grim reminder of the tragedies of war and the promise of peace. It endures in all its glorious splendor so that we may maintain a stable sense of perspective. It is there to give us an opportunity to understand ourselves better in the light of our glorious past. It stands firm and unyielding to the elements so that we can develop an affirmation for the value of freedom and human dignity—so that when our freedom is threatened and independence is at stake—our individual and collective affirmation for our fifth freedom will ultimately save us. Contrary to what is commonly perceived that we haven’t enough respect for the past, Fort Santiago is a notandum that will always be a strong bubble memory, prompting us with a stern warning never to be condemned to make the same mistake in the future.

This is Fort Santiago … not just a heap of blood-spattered volcanic boulders and iron-braced portals … not just a park or a war memorial … over and above these, it is a promise that the supreme sacrifices of our heroes and forebears have not gone in vain.