Description of the attraction
Corredigor Island is a small rocky islet located at the entrance to Manila Bay, 48 km from Manila. It is sometimes called that - "Rock". The entire island is covered with lush tropical vegetation, where wild orchids and other flowers are especially prominent. The size of the tadpole-shaped island is small - 6.5 km in length and a little more than 3 km in width.
The name of the island comes from the Spanish word "korredir", which means "to correct". According to one of the versions, during the Spanish colonial period, all ships that entered the Manila Bay had to stop on the island and show their documents for verification and correction - hence the name "Correction Island", which in Spanish sounds like "Isla del Corredigor ". According to another version, the island served as a penal colony for the Spaniards and was called "El Corredigor".
In the pre-Hispanic period, it was inhabited mainly by fishermen, and there is no doubt that there was also a base for pirates who could easily attack any ships that entered the bay. The Spaniards turned Corredigor into a signal post, where bonfires were lit to alert the inhabitants of Manila of the return of the galleons and the approach of enemies. The Spaniards in 1795 founded a military shipyard and a naval hospital on Corredigor. The first lighthouse was built in 1836, and at the end of the 19th century - in 1897 - a more advanced one, which operated until the beginning of the Second World War. The island's administration was located in the small town of San Jose, which was also founded by the Spaniards. The Americans, who gained control of the Philippines in the late 19th century, turned Corredigor into their military reservation in 1907, where units of the US regular army were located. The soldiers built defenses here to ensure the safety of the naval approach to Manila - concrete firing pads, bomb shelters and roads. Thus began the transformation of a former fishing village into a fortress and the site of one of the most heroic battles in the history of World War II.
When Japanese troops invaded the Philippines in 1942, Allied forces were deploying a mobile defense on Corredigor. History has it that when the province of Bataan was occupied on April 9, 1942, following the fierce Bataan Death March, Filipino and American forces retreated from Corredigore as well. And it was from here that the President of the Philippines Manuel Quezon and the famous American General Douglas MacArthur were taken to Australia. You can still see here military guns, tunnels and the ruins of fortifications that remind of those terrible days.
One of the most important parts of Corredigor is the so-called Summit - the highest point of the island, on which firearms were located. In 1968, the Pacific War Memorial was erected here in memory of the Filipino and American soldiers who died in the battles against the invaders. Another important memorial site is the Eternal Flame of Freedom, which overlooks Manila Bay, the Bataan Peninsula and the Cavite coastline.
The so-called Midland of the island, located at an altitude of 100 to 400 feet, is also home to many buildings and objects from the time of the war. For example, here you can visit the Philippine American Friendship Park, Bird Park and Aviary, as well as the Youth for Peace camp. In addition, on the island it is worth visiting the Japanese Peace Garden, the Memorial to the Heroes-Filipinos with an area of 6 thousand square meters. and the 253-meter Malinta tunnel.
You can get to Corredigor by ferry all year round, except for the typhoon period. There are several hotels and motels on the island, where you can comfortably stay for a few days to get acquainted with the nature and history of the island.
