"World War II’s Aftermath: devastation and desecration of Japanese man-made cave in Liloan"
ABSTRACT
Upon conducting this research we found out different drug paraphernalias, emptied beer bottles and various of garbages inside of the obscure man-made cave in Sitio Cogon , brgy. San Vicente , Liloan , Cebu which was crafted by the powerless Filipinos under the cruel commands of the Japanese militants during the era of the second World War.
We’ve gained informations through interviewing persons who have enough knowledge about the area and by coming inside to see the hidden beauty of the cave.
We conducted this research to inform and address to the people, the long-time hidden precious structure located within our community. To give credits to those who made such unimaginable hideout despite the scarcity of machineries in that period of time.
We also endeavor to make it as a tourist attraction and erase the negative actions that took place in it.
Introduction
Filipinos have always been aware of the natural wonders in our country, and that is why we’ve always been proud to show off to tourists how much more fun it is here. We’ve since added many more sights, crafted by hand and sweat, to showcase our culture. Like the Banaue rice terraces which is crafted in the mountains of Ifugao, and the hanging coffins located besides the cliff of the Lumiang burial cave in Sagada, Philippines.
However, in the mountainous area of Liloan ,Cebu, Philippines in the small but modernized area of sitio Cogon in barangay San Vicente, there’s an infamous and mysterious man-made cave which is said to have contained awful but crucial stories about the history of World War II in Philippines during the inhabitation of the Japanese colony in the so called “The Pearl of the East” which is the Philippines.
About seven decades had passed through and still there are things that remained and considered as the “memento” of the war, that deserves to be preserved and respected, as a symbol of empathy to those who were targeted victims of violence in that era. But in the spacious man-made cave in Cogon, the bad background made by some irresponsible individuals, such as using prohibited drugs inside it, brought negative thoughts in the mind to some of the residents in Cogon that caused most of them to neglect and carefree about the wonders inside the obscure shady cave that may lead to the entire devastation of the sacredness left by our dear Filipino ancestors, who creatively constructed the cave .This cave is a symbol of creativeness of the Filipinos in 1945’s , who had risked their lives willingly in able to survive and gain freedom for our dear country. However the constant pernicious acts of those insensible people defied the real essence of this cave , without internalizing what’s good and what’s bad. Nevertheless, if the people can notify it’s real wonders and appreciates it’s great role in history, maybe we can still preserve it and make it an adventure-packed tourist spot instead of an hang-out site for prohibited drugs’ users.
LITERATURE REVIEW
Fred and Mimi’s blog about the man-made cave stated that, “World War II may have left scars on people’s lives and damaged vital infrastructures, but it has also left behind some man-made wonders in Liloan, such as limestone caves that were used for hiding during the war. One of these known wartime caves can be found in Barangay San Vicente, just shortly beyond the old public cemetery in Sitio Bajac, Barangay Poblacion. Passing through the dirt road ( the road is now sealed) leading to Lataban, one could hardly see the small opening of the caves right now, as it is covered with shrubs and bushes. But adventure seekers only have to ask tricycle drivers or other residents in the area to find themselves inside the spacious, 30-meter high cave, with its interesting limestone formation.
The stillness and the silence in the cathedral-like cave defy stories of fear that apparently gripped the people during the war, a good place for the young to reflect on the kind of hardships our ancestors had to go through.”
There were fearsome stories that is believed that those Filipino ancestors were threatened by the Japanese to be killed if they won’t help build the cave were murdered right after finishing the structure, and believed to be buried also inside the cave, that’s according to the people who lived nearly in the cave who were passed down stories from generation to generation through oral tradition.That’s why it’s also a good idea for the youth to reflect how life is much easier now than before.
The cave is not very difficult to find right now because the caretaker cleaned its surroundings often and the mouth of the cave had gone wider than before because of its constant deformation through the years.
METHODOLOGY
The research was conducted through interviewing some individuals who are greatly connected to the cave since they were young. We asked about simple questions on how it is formed, when and why. And automatically our interviewees’ answers matched to each other.
We asked informations at random persons but we only have two formal interviewees these are Mr. Edwin Jumao-as , 54 yrs old, who once lived above the cave and spent his childhood together with his older brother going inside and out of the cave doing some adventures, and our second interviewee was Mr. Juan Gumacag ,52years old , who spent 25 years caretaking that place and it’s surroundings.
Mr. Edwin Jumao-as
Mr. Juan Gumacag
We interviewed them with orally spoken questions, and recorded the whole conversation in the mobile phones.
RESULTS
Formation of Cogon’s Man-made Cave
It was formed on the emergence of the World War II when the Japanese colonized Philippines . The man-made caves served as their hideout as the war ignited, it’s a war maneuver to confuse and to gain advantage in the battlefield. It’s originally made by the Filipinos who were life threatened and were murdered right after the labor is done.
Inside the man-made cave
There are several things you can find inside the cave like one piece of sandal, empty bottle of beer, hospital vacutainer tubes, garbages, bats, birds, and some drug paraphernalias . Some of them are just recently thrown away and mostly were thrown ages ago. It is treated rudely by the people either as a garbage dump site or a hideout place for illegal drug using activities.
There’s also a hole in the ground having about one meter diameter and about 15-20 meters deep. According to Mr. Edwin Jumao-as that it’s a hole for the Jap’s weaponry to store and may also serve as a storage for things.
Man-made cave’s current state
The cave’s current state right now is still good although there are some parts of it that haves weaker limestone formation that may fall whenever there are sudden earthquakes. Originally there are three entrances into the cave but in it’s current situation two of the main entrances were already covered with the debris which naturally fail down.
It’s land title was formerly owned by President Sergio Osmena whose wealth was rumored to be coming from the treasures that the Japanese left behind ,but currently owned now by the ABOITIZ family.
DISCUSSION
Despite the perseverance to find some artifacts in the cave , we researchers still can’t find even a single one artifact that will make our research stronger and more informative , it is because the artifacts are scattered into the people for souvenir or being sold for money. However our one and only strong artifact is the unnatural formations of the limestone inside the cave that can make you think and analyze that there were really people who lived there and use the place as a temporary shelter and base . The new discoveries that we’ve discovered was that the place was abused by the people, by making it a dump site and by making it a drug user’s hideout, resulting to the place’ desecration and devastation instead of a place of sacredness.
CONCLUSION
In general, the cave was ironically treated as a place for doing illegal things in leisure time rather than a place of reflection of what sufferings our ancestors have undergone in their time. We didn’t found such massive facts about the way people live their lives before, to back up our statements. However, we still believe and hope that someday the man-made cave in Cogon wil be notified by many, through the active participations of the people surrounding the cave especially the youth who would play an important role in pounding the pathway into the future , by simply maintaining the cleanliness inside and out of the cave that will someday become a tourist destination in Liloan.
Thanks for reading the research