A Privilege To Stay At Camp Aguinaldo (Armed Forces of the Philippines General Headquarters) & HPUD

November 1, 2023

I never thought I would step foot at Camp Aguinaldo, the general headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. When my father died, there were many things to process, including the transfer of his pension, which was done at the main headquarters. Since my two older brothers already reported to their respective duties, it left my mother and me with no choice but to travel to Manila, along with my other brother, who's working in Manila.

It was the 16th of October when I first entered Camp Aguinaldo. We planned to stay at the transient house while processing papers to avoid traffic on the road and save time. Besides, my mother can't bear traveling for long hours on congested roads each day. Manila is too toxic for me, and traffic is an unsolvable issue.

"Protecting the people. Securing the state." That's the main motto of Camp Aguinaldo which was named after the Philippine first president and revolutionary leader, Emilio Aguinaldo. The general headquarters is located in Quezon City, just across Camp Crame which is the national headquarters of the Philippine National Police. (Just check the links for references)

The place is open to those with business to do inside. However, one can't go in without a valid ID and reason. But if you want to have a peek inside, maybe you can try to ask permission from the officer on guard. One thing to note is that you must wear closed shoes, not slippers or sandals. Otherwise, you won't be allowed to enter the camp premises. The reason? Just a dress code for civilians. With this, my mom wore his very first sneakers, lol.

Given the date this was built, Camp Aguinaldo has been through different wars, such as World War II. I was stunned by its very wide area — more than a hundred hectares, which is enough to make a big city. Different garrisons can be found in the camp for the group of army, air forces, navy, and marine officials.

Being first-timers, we were confused about where to go first because the place was too wide. As with ordinary cities, there are pedestrians in the camp as well. Another problem we encountered is that offices are far from each other, so those with no private cars would definitely get exhausted by walking.

However, there is the so-called Piso Cab which serves as the shuttle for visitors and residents. But there are only a limited number of them, so waiting for the next one to arrive takes time, especially when the electric car needs to recharge. By the way, I was confused as to why it was called Piso Cab when the fare was five pesos. It should be singko cab from the Filipino term, five pesos. Moreover, the Piso Cabs are only in service until five in the afternoon, so beyond that is walking time, lol.

Visitors with no cars have the option of waiting or walking and exploring the camp. We did the last option on our first day since we didn't want to wait longer in the queue. We followed the covered walk and instructions on how to find the place we wanted to locate given by the officer we asked.

My mom couldn't walk for long distances and hours because of her painful leg, so we were teasing her that it was a great time to exercise and reduce some fat. Besides, it was a great time to explore the place by foot.

I was glad that my brother was with us, otherwise, I'd be the porter for these bags.

Just near the entrance on the left is the hospital, and a few distances from it is the Camp Aguinaldo church. Upon exploring the camp, I've seen two churches and a chapel inside Camp Aguinaldo. The chapel is located near the transient house where we were supposed to stay.

There are canyons in different parts of the general headquarters. If I'm not mistaken, this is where the generals and high officials work. As part of the Philippine ceremony, there is a flag-raising in the morning and a flag retreat in the afternoon which signals the beginning and end of the official duty. With respect to it, people should stop whatever they are doing, including driving, and should listen to the national anthem.

While passing through this area, I noticed the giant statue with a weird design, so I went near it. They call it, Monument for Peace. The white structure on top of it, which I initially thought were three horns, actually has the shape of a dove, which is a symbol of peace.

Upon checking it, I realized that the monument is made up of demilitarized firearms formed like a bonfire. So the monument depicts flaming firearms, which reminds people how destructive war is. This was also made to promote peace among nations.

Can you imagine how many firearms were used to build this monument?

We returned to this monument after doing the necessary transactions later in the afternoon to take souvenir shots. It would be the only opportunity since we never know if we'll be given a chance to revisit the camp in the future.

I spotted this military vehicle near the other gate adjacent to the AFP Museum. We visited the outer part of the museum. Feel free to tap the link if you want to see military vehicles and weapons displayed at the museum.

The camp is more like a community. It has complete facilities, even a Soldier's Mall. It has different food stalls and a shopping center. Our intention to find this mall was to eat lunch, but it took us time to find it on foot since there wasn't a shuttle roaming around at that time.

I have also seen a Minimart while riding around the camp on the shuttle located near the Transient House.

Given the wide lawn area, there's a Golf Course as well. I was uncertain, though, if it was for the public or exclusive to officials working in the camp.

I was about to visit this cafe inside the golf course premises, but it slipped my mind when the rain poured so hard later that afternoon.

We stumbled upon Saint Ignatius Cathedral, so we opted to stay and waited for the rain to stop. I took the chance to pray for my father's soul and asked for forgiveness.

We decided to check in at the Transient House on Wednesday Night. I forgot to take a photo of the transient house, but here are the photos taken inside. There's also a small chapel and playground next to it.

The outside looks fine, and I was expecting better rooms inside. It's a three-story building consisting of air-conditioned and non-air-conditioned rooms. Since the air-conditioned rooms were fully booked, we opted to stay in a room with a wall fan. I was a bit disappointed to see the room, as it didn't meet my expectations. But I ignored it for as long as we had a roof to stay under.

Mom looked too tired from walking. She put some pain reliever pads on her knee and foot, and immediately drifted off to sleep after dinner.

We're back to business the following days, then we left the camp on Friday after doing the remaining transactions and visiting the AFP Museum. Staying at the Transient House at Camp Aguinaldo saved us time and money for the fare. Moreover, it gave us the chance to have a glimpse of the general headquarters where my father once stayed and worked for a certain period back when he was still in service.

That's all for today's #WednesdayWalk initiated by @tattoodjay in collaboration with the #MakeMeSmile challenge. I'm wishing you all a great day.

And don't forget that today is #HPUD!

Take your time to Power Up and happy trick & treat!

(All photos are mine)

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