Media Category: Philippines 2025

A close-up of the wood relief of the main gate of Fort Santiago depicts the apostle as a warrior saint, Santiago Matamoros, St. James the Moor-slayer. It symbolizes the historical belief that St. James miraculously aided Christian forces in the Battle of Clavijo against Moorish forces during the period of Islamic rule over Iberia. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A close-up of the reconstructed main gate of Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. After its destruction during WWII, Fort Santiago was declared as a Shrine of Freedom in 1950. The wood relief of the main gate of Fort Santiago shows Santiago Matamoros (St. James the Moor-slayer), a symbol of Spanish sovereignty and Christianity’s role in Spain’s history. And, the coat of arms, of the Kingdom of Castile and León, is a symbol of Spanish sovereignty and presence in occupied territories. The entire gate, named for St. James, was built in 1714 and faithfully restored in the 1980s after its destruction during World War. (Sept. 12, 2025)

The Plaza de Armas in Fort Santiago, now a historical national park, houses well-preserved legacies from the Spanish colonial period including memorabilia of José Rizal at the Rizal Shrine. (Sept. 12, 2025)

At the Museo ni José Rizal or Shrine of José Rizal within Fort Santiago’s grounds in Manila’s Intramuros, are his personal effects, manuscripts, and artwork, preserving his memory as a national hero whose martyrdom inspired the Philippine Revolution and the fight for independence. Several people died in the fort’s prisons during the Spanish Empire and World War II including José Rizal, the Philippine national hero, who was imprisoned here before his execution in 1896. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A life-size wax effigy of José Rizal is located within his actual prison cell at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros where Rizal penned his famous valedictory poem, “Mi Ultimo Adios”. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A portrait of José Rizal from around 1891 at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. Born June 19, 1861, Rizal was a Filipino nationalist, writer, artist and an ophthalmologist by profession. He is popularly considered a national hero (pambansang bayani) of the Philippines and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms for the colony under Spain. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A life-size wax effigy of José Rizal is located within his actual prison cell at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. This exhibit reimagines the cell where Rizal spent his final days, after being charged by the colonial Spanish authorities for rebellion, sedition and formation of illegal societies from Nov. 3 to Dec. 29, 1896, a period leading up to his execution on December 30, 1896. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A large mural of José Rizal, the Filipino nationalist, writer and an ophthalmologist by profession can be seen at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. He is considered a national hero (pambansang bayani) of the Philippines and a key member of the Filipino Propaganda Movement, which advocated political reforms and was executed by the Spanish colonial government for the crime of rebellion after the Philippine Revolution broke out; a revolution inspired by his writings. Though he was not actively involved in the planning of the revolution, he ultimately approved of its goals, which eventually resulted in Philippine Independence. (Sept. 12, 2024)

Here are some of Rizal’s personal effects, including his clothes which he used in his travels through Europe on exhibit at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A gallery room of drawings by Jose Riza, a Filipino nationalist, writer, artist and an ophthalmologist by profession, at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A gallery room of drawings by José Rizal, a Filipino nationalist, writer, artist and an ophthalmologist by profession, at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. (Sept. 12, 2025)

A wall of photos inside a gallery room of José Rizal, a Filipino nationalist, writer, artist and an ophthalmologist by profession, at the Shrine of José Rizal inside Fort Santiago in Manila’s Intramuros. (Sept. 12, 2025)

The area where José Rizal, a Filipino nationalist, writer, artist and an ophthalmologist by profession, was held just before his execution by a firing squad on Dec. 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan field (now Rizal Park) in Manila. The firing squad consisted of eight Filipino soldiers, with a backup force of Spanish soldiers positioned behind them, ready to shoot the executioners if they failed to follow orders. (Sept. 12, 2025)

The area where José Rizal, a Filipino nationalist, writer, artist and an ophthalmologist by profession, was held just before his execution by a firing squad on Dec. 30, 1896 at Bagumbayan field (now Rizal Park) in Manila. The firing squad consisted of eight Filipino soldiers, with a backup force of Spanish soldiers positioned behind them, ready to shoot the executioners if they failed to follow orders. (Sept. 12, 2025)

The White Cross in Fort Santiago is where in 1the decomposing remains of about 600 bodies were found in the nearby dungeon were put in a mass grave marked with this white marble cross as a memorial to the victims of World War II who perished at the site.

In 1945, following the liberation of Manila during the World War II, the US Army discovered 600 decomposing corpses inside the Fort Santiago dungeon with its entrance to the right of the cross. The conditions were so cramped that the Filipino and American prisoners died from suffocation, heat exhaustion and starvation. The White Cross is a mass grave for the remains of the prisoners found in the dungeon. (Sept. 12, 2025)

Here’s the entrance to the nearby dungeon where in 1945, following the liberation of Manila during the Second World War, the US Army discovered 600 decomposing corpses inside the Fort Santiago dungeons. The conditions were so cramped that all prisoners died from suffocation and heat exhaustion. The remains were placed in a mass grave marked with a white marble cross. (May 12, 2025)