Dr. Higinio A. Mendoza, a Palawan hero and the governor of the province that time, wrote on a still wet concrete wall of a newly constructed port in Cabigsing, El Nido, Palawan. It happened in 1934 during the administration of Municipal President Rosalio Castro of El Nido.
The wall is located near the Philippine Coast Guard Station and entrance arc of the present-day pier. The old wall is threatened by the rapid development in the port area, negligence and lack of public knowledge. Only very few residents of El Nido know this and those who don’t know could damage the wall out of ignorance. Only a section of the said wall remained as other walls were replaced by new ones as port development by the Philippine Port Authority continues.
These are the words that the former governor wrote on the wall:
“Remembrance from the pas(letter deleted),
Best wishes for the p(letters deleted),
A bright hope for the future.”
The word “pas” with deleted letter could mean “past” while the letter “p” with deleted letters could mean “present” since the last word is “future.” This is the assumption if Gov. Mendoza was using the classic way of relaying the message through the three tenses. There is also an opinion raised by Mr. Andrei Acosta that the word “pas” could mean “pass.” In this case, the governor could be playing with words. The word “pass” could have a double meaning as “past” and his brief stopover at El Nido that time.
Stephen L. Moore gave a brief biography of Dr. Mendoza in his book “As Good as Dead: The Daring Escape of American POWs from a Japanese Death Camp.” In that book, he wrote, “Dr. Higinio Acosta Mendoza was one of the earliest leaders of the island’s guerilla network. Born in Puerto Princesa in 1898, Mendoza traveled to the United States during the 1920s for his schooling and attended the University of Iowa. He returned to the Philippines with the degree of Doctor of Medicine and ran a successful practice until 1931, when he was persuaded to run for Governor of Palawan. After he was reelected in 1934, his governorship was marked by civic improvement projects such as extending roads, installing a water system in Puerto Princesa, planting trees along the road, and establishing a botanical garden.” 1
- Stephen L. Moore; “As Good as Dead: The Daring Escape of American POWs from a Japanese Death Camp,” 2016, New York, p. 62. ↩︎
El Nido Heritage 