A construction crew working on the restoration of Plaza Cuartel, a popular tourist destination in this city, has unearthed a centuries-old tunnel under the site that has previously been lost to the annals of colonial history.

Demetrio Alvior Jr., who heads the City Tourism Office (CTO), told reporters on Monday that the tunnel still has its original bricks, indicating it has not been disturbed by treasure hunters or looters over the years.

He said construction workers were surprised to discover human bones and vintage armaments in the tunnel.

“When they were digging for landscaping, they discovered the tunnel. The original bricks were unearthed, and there were bones and bullets –evidence that something really happened at Plaza Cuartel,” Alvior said in Filipino.

Plaza Cuartel was originally built by the Spaniards to serve as a garrison but it became a penal colony where the Japanese invaders imprisoned captured Filipino and American soldiers during World War II.

It gained infamy as the site where American prisoners of war (POWs) were burned alive by Japanese soldiers on Dec. 14, 1944, and only 11 of the 150 POWs survived.

The existence of a tunnel underneath Plaza Cuartel has always been a subject of speculation that has since been relegated to the realm of folklore.

However, Alvior said the rediscovery of the Spanish tunnel turned myth into reality and significantly enhanced Plaza Cuartel’s historic value.

He said that once the landscaping of Plaza Cuartel is finished, the CTO’s goal is to establish walking tours around the site.

He envisions cruise ships docking at the nearby port area and droves of tourists exploring the city’s historic sites including Eulalia Park, Rizal Park, the Old Governor’s Mansion, and Plaza Quartel.

Alvior said the local government intends to turn the city’s historical sites into primary tourist attractions by 2025, hence the ongoing restoration efforts.

The Special Battalion World War II Memorial Museum in Barangay Bancao-Bancao will also be upgraded to include a cafe and other amenities, he said.

“This only shows that our tourism industry is improving, that’s why our tourism stakeholders are also upgrading,” he added. (PNA)