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By Excel V. Dyquiangco

Subic, in the heart of Olongapo City, is popularly known for its grandiose mercantile establishments like the Royale Subic, its tourists destinations like the vast cavern of wild animals in Zoobic and of course, its sometimes adorable and pesky monkeys that dart out from behind trees to climb telephone poles and wires overhead.

What used to be a naval base for both the American and Spanish colonies now has become a haven for luscious commercial and industrial complex for both foreign and local nationalities.

But the sights and sounds of Subic go beyond that.

In the near distance, overlooking the seashore of Subic Bay, lies tales of Subic’s historic past – a fleet of army ships bobbing quietly amidst the flurry noises of tourists posing and aiming to picture an unforgettable moment with such a monumental event in our history, and in our life.

Hundreds of years ago, Subic was conquered by the Americans – which they plan to develop into a commercial ground. But the onset of World War I and World War II offset the American’s plans to develop Subic, where the third conqueror, the Japanese, took over. Unlike the Spanish and the Americans, the Japanese treated the place with cruelty and brutality.

A certain Filipino citizen, Ramon Magsaysay, who later became a loving and affectionate president of the Philippines, led the revolt against the Japanese. Together with the Americans, they threw the Japanese off the island, forming an ally that benefited the people of Subic.

Just like the time that they occupied Subic before the Japanese came, the Americans turned the place into a course on survival training.

One of the people who aided the Americans and exposed them into an independent life was a modern, yet an aborigine, who came to Subic to seek greener pastures.

The trails along Pamulaklakin (meaning to flower in English) in Subic led to a quaint cottage at the outskirts of the woods which housed the one person who taught the Americans everything they needed to know about surviving in the wild.

Clad in a loose shirt and tight-fitting shorts, Dominador Liwanag didn’t look like an ordinary citizen of Subic, apart from his suit. Known as Tata Kasuy, he wore a baseball cap, which had curly white tresses peeking out from underneath and a bolo at his side not only to thwart of unexpected visits from some untamed animals but also to support his fellow comrades in leafing out trees for medicinal purposes.

Leaving his cottage, he wore a wide smile on his lips, noting that he was used to be frequented with visitors. His fast strides didn’t show the true meaning of his age.

“They were very kind to me,” he said in straight English, whispering softly as he sidestepped on leaves. “They always treated me like their god. But, of course, I refuse to be called just that. Afterall, I only taught them the basic things they needed to know about living in the jungle.”

Walking quite softly on the ground, he then proceeded to swipe a bamboo tree with his bolo, scraping the skin a few inches deep. “Bamboo is very useful in medicine,” he said, this time, in Tagalog. “You can cook with this one. You can use it to make weapons to protect yourself.” He then proceeded to demonstrate some other stuff and technique that he was able to teach the Americans – knowing a bamboo’s real age through its skin, cutting it lengthwise which served as a boiling pot and for curing illnesses like diarrhea, migraine and asthma.

As the day ended with his revelation, he beamed with only one message in mind – that the Americans were, in fact, very much useful to the protection of Subic against foreign invaders.

And so, with the help of foreign and local nationalities, Subic was forever changed – from a naval fortress to a land of opportunities.

The Spaniards and Americans succeeded not only in turning Subic into one of the tourist hot spots in the Philippines but also into a legacy of being an in-line destination to one of the greatest stories of history the world over.

Tags: Subic Jungle Trail, Subic Bay Philippines, Subic Jungle Survival Training, Zoobic