Death March Km 00 Marker and Japan-Philippine Friendship Tower in Bagac, Bataan
After our hitch-hiking adventure to climb Mount Samat and reach the Dambana ng Kagitingan our next plan was to head to Bagac, Bataan and spend the night at Stella Mariz Beach Resort. I just knew the general location of the resort but I did not really know how to get there so when the bus arrived at the town of Bagac we asked a tricycle driver to take us to the resort. He said the price on how much a trip would cost and even told us that we will be passing by the Death March Km 00 Marker and the Japan-Philippine Friendship Tower! I knew the existence of both spots because of the map that I use and I was really curious on how they would look personally.
After having our kakanin lunch at a karinderya inside Bagac we rode the tricycle and the first stop is a figure of a bayonet plunged to the ground with a helmet on its top. I did not know what this symbol is called nor the reason why the symbol was built. I tried looking for the signages that explains what it symbolizes, unfortunately, I did not find one.
Not more than 30 meters away lies the Kilometer 00 Death March Marker in Bagac, Bataan. It’s a reminder of the gruesome death march that happened during World War II but looking at it now it was not maintained well. It’s on a fork on the road where I noticed more the directional signs to the resorts than the marker itself.
Next stop is the Japan-Philippine Friendship Tower which was located near the National Highway. It’s a symbol that Japan and the Philippines after the war is now going toward a peaceful relationship. And I had a hard time finding out the reason because the signage on why the tower was built is on the farther side of the compound from the entrance.