Intramuros’ Garden of the Brave

One of the guests who attended the dedication ceremony couldn’t stop crying. Finally, after 65 years, the bravery of his father was finally recognized and will live on through the Intramuros’ Bamboo Garden.

The Bamboo garden is part of the Intramuros Administration’s (IA) plan of developing and reviving the charms of the old Walled City. The garden is dedicated to the heroism displayed by Filipino guerillas when they valiantly fought the Japanese soldiers during World War II.

“There are so many monuments and statues in the city dedicated to the leaders of the revolution or war. But how many sites are dedicated to the common people who also showed bravery during the war? Those who have fought side by side with the popular heroes? They are part of the reason why we succeeded during those trying times,” said Bambi Harper, administrator of IA.

The Bamboo Garden has a memorial landmark with an inscription honoring the unsung WWII heroes. The commemorative garden, which is envisioned to become an inexpensive addition to the Walled City, would be built around donations of bamboo trees.

“We don’t believe that for something to be beautiful, it should be expensive or be lavishly spent upon. Of course being financially supported is always good but a support for a project is not limited to money, like for the Bamboo garden, we graciously accepted Bamboo plants as donations which will be installed and added in the garden,” added Harper.

The IA hopes that the Bamboo Garden will inspire Filipinos to bring out the hero in every one of them for the nation to move forward.

“The garden is dedicated to the heroism of the common Filipino. Their bravery during the war and of course to remind the Filipinos that the struggles in the past are testaments of what we can achieve in the future. Hopefully, we could boost the Filipino’s sense of pride,” relayed Harper.

Harper also added that “it is very possible that when our generation is gone, our children will not remember what transpired here during the war or call to mind these unsung heroes. It is for this reason that we redeem them from oblivion and repay them in a small way. That debt of gratitude that we have for these heroes is the reason why we are dedicating this Bamboo Garden in their memory and in recognition of their sacrifices.”

The old Walled City of Intramuros is filled with history and continues to draw at least 50,000 tourists a month. Within its walls, the city of Manila was built during the Spanish occupation of Miguel Lopez de Legazpi in 1576, having conquered the Malay settlement and “ejected” its former occupants led by Raja Soliman and his uncle Raja Matanda.

Intramuros literally means “within its walls” and is a fortification enclosing the original city with wall thickness measuring up to 10 meters in most portions. The devastation to the city brought by contending American and Japanese forces during the Second World War made Intramuros a pulverized relic and through its rubble, the painstaking job of slow reconstruction inched its way decades after.

Currently Intramuros houses government institutions, schools, churches, museums, restaurants and bars. Around the city, on what used to be a moat, is a golf course developed by the Americans during the early 1900s. Some of Intramuros’ historical sites include the San Agustin Church and Museum, Fort Santiago, Rizal Shrine, the Manila Cathedral and Casa Manila.