The passion of Manong Pablito
Philippine Daily Inquirer
First Posted 00:45:00 09/22/2008
Filed Under: People, Lifestyle & Leisure
IF you’re fed up with so much bad news about our country and countrymen, let me share with you my unforgettable trip to Corregidor last Sept. 6.
My friends treated me to this trip for my 40th birthday. I did not think it would be anything special. But it was.
The ticketing office near the Cultural Center of the Philippines, while not luxurious, was decent and clean enough. The catamaran we boarded was immaculate, the staff warm and accommodating. The trip was uneventful except for nice views of the Manila skyline and the mountains of Bataan and Cavite. I had a headache; fortunately, a member of the staff was kind enough to give me a painkiller.
An elderly tour guide named Pablito Martinez spoke just a few minutes before we docked in Corregidor. He began rattling off some information about the island. I really did not pay much attention to what he had to say. I half-expected that he would sing Sinatra’s “My Way.” My indifference, however, turned to surprise: the man spoke flawless English (even with a slight twang) and he certainly knew what he was talking about, from weapons to ships to historical dates and events. My friends and I decided to join his tour bus—No. 6.
It turned out to be a wise decision.
As a lover of history, I thought I knew much about World War II in the Pacific, but Martinez knew even more. Not only was he an expert on historical data and on the guns and cannons of Corregidor, he was also very professional about his work. He mingled with us (local and foreign tourists), had a terrific sense of humor and was a stickler for punctuality. In fact, he seemed to be having a great time doing his work, which he did with an uncommon passion.
I found out that Martinez has been working as a tour guide for more than 30 years, and has his own advocacy for the recognition of 29 Filipina nurses whose services remain unappreciated even by our own government. They tended to the injured and dying in Bataan and Corregidor, but our own people chose to remember only the services of American nurses whose names are now inscribed in a memorial in Corregidor.
Corregidor is a place worth visiting: the views are simply fantastic; its shrines and ruined batteries will cast a mystical spell on the patriotic Filipino. Sports-minded people can bike or hike around the island, or camp out or swim in its blue waters. You can even drink to your heart’s content in one of the bars during a starry night in the company of friends.
But if you want to know Corregidor and Bataan and your country’s history better, and love your country more, I advise you to look for Pablito Martinez, an Ilocano from Jones, Isabela, a patriotic Filipino who serves his country with his silent work.
Manong Pablito, mabuhay ka! —ROMMEL SANTOS, Room 519, North Wing, House of Representatives, Constitutional Hills, Quezon City
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