Pilar, Bataan | Shrine of Valor & Mt. Samat Cross Good Friday Day Trip

After getting inspiration from the 1000 PHP Bataan trip blog, the stokedtraveler takes off to the nearby province of Bataan.

Bataan is just about 2.5 hours drive from Metro Manila. It is most popular for the infamous Death March during World War II where allied forces were made to march all the way from Bataan to Tarlac - some 128 kms. The stretch of the march was characterized by the most gruesome abuses the Japanese army could inflict resulting to deaths of thousands of Filipino and American soldiers.

It was on a Good Friday and the stokedtraveler had the curious desire to visit the largest cross that could be found in the Philippines. True enough, the Mt. Samat Shrine of Valor in Brgy. Diwa, Pilar, Bataan would be the best candidate.

The plan was to drive from Pampanga to Mt. Samat. This would let him stop by other nearby attractions and historic markers along the way minus the hassle of the commute. Luckily, he googled up the drive and found out that the path leading to the top of Mt. Samat was nothing short of winding and sharp turns. His driving skills were not up to the challenge yet so he decided to take the bus and commute.

The stokedtraveler boarded the Balanga bus (Bataan Transit) in SM Pampanga. An hour and a half later, the bus arrives at an almost empty Balanga terminal. He followed another blogger’s directions and started asking for jeep going to Brgy. Diwa. There were very few people on the terminal and only a few jeepneys and tricycles. 

A tricycle driver approached him and offered to take him to Brgy. Diwa for PHP 250! Way off from the PHP 17 jeepney fare that was budgeted for his trip. The tricycle driver continued to lower his rate to PHP 150 and said that there was no longer any jeepney going to Brgy. Diwa because it is Good Friday. It’s unbelievable how some people will do or say anything to take advantage of poor travelers. With distaste, the stokedtraveler walks toward the police tourist assistance that was setup as part of OPLAN SUMVAC (Summer Vacation). He was then told to take the Parang-Bagac jeepney and ask to be dropped at Diwa intersection where the uphill road leads to Mt. Samat.

Jeepney fare cost PHP 20 and took about 25 minutes. From Brgy. Diwa intersection, he took a tricycle going to Mt. Samat and was charged PHP 200/way. The tricycle driver there was a little more polite and offered to wait for him on the way down.

The road was just as he expected. It probably wasn’t as dreadful to drive on because there were sufficient road barriers and it was wider than on video. Nonetheless, there was no absence of the blind curves and hairpin turns. 

Entrance fee for the site was PHP 20.00. Those bringing in their own vehicles also have to pay additional parking fee of PHP 30.00. There were lots of cars lining the remainder of the road past the gate. There were also lots of bikers who seem to take the ride of their lives up and down the path to Mt. Samat.

It was still a long way up from the gates of the park going to the shrine. Tricycles weren’t allowed inside. Only private vehicles that paid the parking fee were permitted inside.

What greets you after the long walk is an open park overlooking Bataan peninsula. It is a refreshing sight of greens and the sea. Opposite the grand stadium is the Shrine of Valor (Dambana ng Kagitingan) museum. The main attraction was closed to visitors because it has just been repainted in preparation for Araw ng Kagitingan. It was disappointing that they would repaint it so close to the event and just when they knew people would flock the area for Holy Week pilgrimages (perhaps some government dignitaries will be visiting. Bleh!).

The museum displays a lot of war memorabilia from photos, clothes, rifles and even a few medals from decorated war heroes. There were also war maps reminiscent of those that you’d see from computer games. Taking photos and bringing food/drinks inside the museum is not allowed. Entry to the upper level was also closed and air conditioning wasn’t turned on.

Other than those mentioned, there wasn’t very much to explore inside the museum. The space was a little cramped for the volume of visitors and minus air conditioning it almost felt like a sauna inside (they were supposed to preserve stuff in there but perhaps cost-cutting is more important nowadays)

To get to the enormous cross on top of Mt. Samat, one must face Kung Fu panda’s greatest foe – The Stairs! 

It was another long walk going up. It wasn’t too bad for the stokedtraveler though. He was energized by the captivating sight of Mt. Mariveles and the wide view of the area surrounding Mt. Samat. Every level higher would give him a better view of the areas below and closer to the Mt. Samat cross.

It took him more than an hour waiting in line under the sun to get a glimpse of what the Mt. Samat cross had to offer. 

It was scorching hot on top. There was a long line of people waiting for their turn to get inside the Mt. Samat cross. There is only one elevator able to lift 7-8 average sized individuals (a few seconds of feeling like being inside a can of sardines).

There were blog references to a stair case leading up but well, check it out for yourself if you’ll want to take it. It may have just been made for emergency purposes when the elevator suddenly breaks down while there are still people on the viewing deck.

Was Marcos one of the survivors of Bataan Death March? The stokedtraveler learns that this grand shrine is another accomplishment that was made during Marcos' presidency. It is sad that all the good his done was overshadowed by dirty politics. He is neither pro or anti Marcos, he is just for fair and factual deeds rather than unproven accusations.

It was breezy inside the viewing deck of the cross.  There’s really no time limit to stay there but the stokedtraveler decided to just breathe in some fresh air and snap some photos. It had some great views up there. The kind of which you’d only get to see if you hiked on a mountain, the only difference is in Mt. Samat you use stairs to do it J

The inside of the cross showed signs of wear and tear. Some windows were closed. Some had metal sheets where the windows used to be. The stokedtraveler opened one window to get a better view but he was told by the guard to keep it closed as it might fall off. (Wow! Really!) It is sad that they considered repainting the museum but didn’t bother to keep the cross maintained. To some extent it posed real hazard (thinking about windows falling down from the deck down to the lined up spectators!)

At 6:18 PM, the stokedtraveler wrapped up his tour of the Mt. Samat Shrine of Valor. 

The downward slopes were more tricky to navigate with the tricycle. There were sections were the tricycle didn’t have to gas up but it would still roll down fast.

Part of the plan was to take a jeepney from Diwa intersection back to Balanga Terminal. Unfortunately, it was already dark and jeepneys come there in intervals of “approximately” 30 minutes. Another tricycle driver offered to take him to Balanga terminal along with 3 other passengers. He was charged PHP 100.

From Balanga terminal he took the last trip of UV express going to Dau, Pampanga (Fare costs PHP 140). There were no more buses headed to Olongapo or Manila that time so the UV express van was his only choice. The van left the terminal at 7:18 PM shortly after the Good Friday procession which occupied the main road. A few meters away from the Balanga Terminal is the Bataan Transit terminal. They still had buses there and would’ve been cheaper to take. UV express was fine though because it took SCTEX and the trip was shorter. He arrived in Clarkfield, Pampanga at 9:00 PM.