Trip to Samal, Bataan

Samal is  located in the  Bataan province and within Region III in the western path of Central Luzon. It has a total of 14 barangays. Samal is a fourth class municipality and partially urban.

One of it’s famous attraction is the Mt. Samat. Mt. Samat is located in Pilar town of Bataan. Others want to climb to it’s mountain, the mountain is popular for the Dambana ng Kagitingan or Shrine of Valor. It was built to honor the Filipinos and American soldiers who fought and lost their lives for our country during the World War II.

The white cross was built in commemoration of the Battle of Bataan. It stands at 92 meters or 302 ft and located at an area of 74 hectares and at the mountain height of 555 meters of 1821 meters below the sea level.

White Cross

The battle of the band ended in the army of us and filipinos soldiers surrounding to Japanese which ended in the famous Bataan death march. The Bataan death march consist of 75,000 filipinos and american soldiers who became prisoners after 3 months in war with the Japanese. The 75,000 men walk 97 km of pain suffering and abuse that resulted with the high death count. During the march, they’re not given food and water and those who couldn’t walk are fell behind wore bayoneted or beheaded by the Japanese. The death toll during the march reach up to approximately 5,000 to 10,000 filipino soldiers and 600 – 650 american soldiers. This war against the Japanese is one if the most gruesome shows of cruelty during wars and is now a very important part of the filipino history.


Aside from the cross to which you can enter, there is also a museum that holds a collection of paintings of heroes as well s armaments  and artifacts used during the war.

The Cross…

View from the top of the cross:

For those who’d love to have a historical walk, Bataan is one of the best places to tour as this places consist of memorials, landmarks and statues meant to remember our countrymen and american soldiers who suffered so munch through a wrongful treatment.

Being there in Bataan was a great honor for me. I don’t even know fully what happened there. Only when I visit the Bataan, I realized and appreciate what those men has done and how much they love our country.

~ Chelsea Quiambao