After the massive, deadly explosion of an abandoned stockpile in Beirut, the Philippine Navy chief assures the public steps are being taken to rid Caballo Island of its stockpile of vintage ordnance, munitions.
In this drone picture, the destroyed silo sits in rubble and debris after an explosion at the seaport of Beirut, Lebanon, August 5, 2020. The massive explosion rocked Beirut, flattening much of the city’s port, damaging buildings across the capital and sending a giant mushroom cloud into the sky.
FOLLOWING the August 4, 2020, massive explosion from a huge stockpile of ammonium nitrate at the Beirut port in Lebanon, the flag officer in command (FOIC) of the Philippine Navy has confirmed the existence of a storage site for vintage unexploded ordnance and munitions on Caballo Island, a rocky islet at the entrance of Manila Bay.
Navy FOIC Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, however, asserted that the dumps are being tightly secured and maintained to preclude any untoward incident, or worse, an explosion similar to, or as powerful as, the Beirut blast that killed more than a hundred people and injured more than a hundred more.
Navy FOIC Vice Adm. Giovanni Carlo Bacordo, however, asserted that the dumps are being tightly secured and maintained to preclude any untoward incident, or worse, an explosion similar to, or as powerful as, the Beirut blast that killed more than a hundred people and injured more than a hundred more.
Caballo Island, as seen from the tailside of Corregidor Island, March 2019.
“The Philippine Navy has in its inventory old stockpile of ordnance and munitions on Caballo Island supervised by the Naval Ordnance depot,” he confirmed in reply to a query by the BusinessMirror. The inquiry was triggered by a BBC report listing the Caballo Island among sites around the world that still host potentially deadly stockpiles.
“The Philippine Navy assures the public that the stockpile of ordnance and munitions are properly handled [and] stored,” the top Navy official added.
“The Philippine Navy has in its inventory old stockpile of ordnance and munitions on Caballo Island supervised by the Naval Ordnance depot,” he confirmed in reply to a query by the BusinessMirror. The inquiry was triggered by a BBC report listing the Caballo Island among sites around the world that still host potentially deadly stockpiles.
“The Philippine Navy assures the public that the stockpile of ordnance and munitions are properly handled [and] stored,” the top Navy official added.
Moved out to Crow Valley
A highly placed source from the military who requested not to be named, however, said some of the potentially deadly inventory stored on the island, which has remained strictly off limits to civilians and unauthorized individuals, have already been transported to Crow Valley in Tarlac and disposed of by controlled detonation.
Crow Valley was the main bombing range of the United States Armed Forces in the Western Pacific when the US still held exclusive control over its sprawling military bases at Clark and Subic. It is currently under the control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and has been renamed Col. Ernesto Ravina Air Base in 2016.
A highly placed source from the military who requested not to be named, however, said some of the potentially deadly inventory stored on the island, which has remained strictly off limits to civilians and unauthorized individuals, have already been transported to Crow Valley in Tarlac and disposed of by controlled detonation.
Crow Valley was the main bombing range of the United States Armed Forces in the Western Pacific when the US still held exclusive control over its sprawling military bases at Clark and Subic. It is currently under the control of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and has been renamed Col. Ernesto Ravina Air Base in 2016.
12-inch (305mm) mortars at Fort Greble, Rhode Island, during World War I, similar to those of Battery Craighill used on Fort Hughes. Below, map of the recapture of Corregidor, February 1945.
Heap of bombs
The presence of a huge cache of ammunition on Caballo Island was flagged in a report by the BBC News, in an article on August 12, 2020, titled: “Beirut Blast: The Other Countries with Dangerous Dumps of Explosives.”
Writer Frank Gardner quoted Simon Conway, a senior director with the British mine-clearing charity Halo Trust, as saying: “In the Philippines, Ukraine, Georgia, Libya and Guinea-Bissau there are dangerous dumps of munitions left over from both past and present conflicts, some of them perilously close to residential areas.”
Conway visited Caballo Island and found “a store of deteriorating US munitions dating back to World War II.”
“Rusting shells, depth charges, mortar bombs and other projectiles litter the floor of a bunker, while crates of explosives and propellant charges are stacked all the way to the ceiling,” he observed.
Halo Trust estimates that on Caballo Island and at another site nearby, there are a total of 1.6 million explosive items—enough, it is feared, to potentially destroy the nearby airport in Corregidor and threaten passing ships on Manila Bay.
The presence of a huge cache of ammunition on Caballo Island was flagged in a report by the BBC News, in an article on August 12, 2020, titled: “Beirut Blast: The Other Countries with Dangerous Dumps of Explosives.”
Writer Frank Gardner quoted Simon Conway, a senior director with the British mine-clearing charity Halo Trust, as saying: “In the Philippines, Ukraine, Georgia, Libya and Guinea-Bissau there are dangerous dumps of munitions left over from both past and present conflicts, some of them perilously close to residential areas.”
Conway visited Caballo Island and found “a store of deteriorating US munitions dating back to World War II.”
“Rusting shells, depth charges, mortar bombs and other projectiles litter the floor of a bunker, while crates of explosives and propellant charges are stacked all the way to the ceiling,” he observed.
Halo Trust estimates that on Caballo Island and at another site nearby, there are a total of 1.6 million explosive items—enough, it is feared, to potentially destroy the nearby airport in Corregidor and threaten passing ships on Manila Bay.
Conway, accompanied by members of the military, said there are two sheds containing 200,000 anti-aircraft rounds. “If those sheds went up, it would definitely affect the nearby airport,” referring to the tiny airstrip on Corregidor 4.7 kilometers away.
Conway said the horror of what happened in Beirut port has not been lost on local authorities and “within days, the Philippine Navy called Halo to discuss how best to dispose of all this ammunition safely.”
Rich history
Caballo Island has a rich history. It is a twin island of Corregidor that the Americans turned into impregnable defenses, arming them with huge guns pointed toward the mouth of Manila Bay to discourage the entry of enemy battleships.
It is about 1.2 kilometers long and 381 feet high at the highest point.
The whole island was formerly occupied by Fort Hughes, a US defense fortification before World War II. It was heavily bombed during the war.
Japanese soldiers occupied Caballo Island in 1942, until returning American forces, three years later, flushed them out by pouring gasoline and diesel in their hiding places, detonating the gasoline by dynamite. Some 70 Japanese soldiers died in the ensuing inferno.
Remains of the old fortifications, batteries and structures were left rusting in the open after it was abandoned at the end of World War II.
Caballo Island has a rich history. It is a twin island of Corregidor that the Americans turned into impregnable defenses, arming them with huge guns pointed toward the mouth of Manila Bay to discourage the entry of enemy battleships.
It is about 1.2 kilometers long and 381 feet high at the highest point.
The whole island was formerly occupied by Fort Hughes, a US defense fortification before World War II. It was heavily bombed during the war.
Japanese soldiers occupied Caballo Island in 1942, until returning American forces, three years later, flushed them out by pouring gasoline and diesel in their hiding places, detonating the gasoline by dynamite. Some 70 Japanese soldiers died in the ensuing inferno.
Remains of the old fortifications, batteries and structures were left rusting in the open after it was abandoned at the end of World War II.
‘Daily monitoring’
Bacordo said the condition of the stored bombs and ordnance is regularly monitored by Navy personnel so they would not pose any risk to the island and the surrounding areas.
“Our personnel on Caballo Island are conducting daily monitoring and inspection on the status of munitions in order to ensure that these items are stable and safe from any hazard and secured from intruders,” he said.
Bacordo confirmed that the Navy is also coordinating with US military officials for the disposal of the stored bomb items.
“Currently, the Philippine Navy is constantly coordinating with the Jusmag [Joint US Military Advisory Group] personnel on how we are going to clear all the explosive remnants of war on Caballo Island. The removal of said items needs special equipment for handling. However, it was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Bacordo explained.
The Navy chief assured they are working to avoid an accident similar to the Beirut blast.
“We ensure that safety measures are employed to avoid such incident. Our Navy ordnance personnel are aptly trained and equipped to respond to and properly handle any eventualities especially in ensuring such incident will not happen,” he said.
Bacordo said the condition of the stored bombs and ordnance is regularly monitored by Navy personnel so they would not pose any risk to the island and the surrounding areas.
“Our personnel on Caballo Island are conducting daily monitoring and inspection on the status of munitions in order to ensure that these items are stable and safe from any hazard and secured from intruders,” he said.
Bacordo confirmed that the Navy is also coordinating with US military officials for the disposal of the stored bomb items.
“Currently, the Philippine Navy is constantly coordinating with the Jusmag [Joint US Military Advisory Group] personnel on how we are going to clear all the explosive remnants of war on Caballo Island. The removal of said items needs special equipment for handling. However, it was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic,” Bacordo explained.
The Navy chief assured they are working to avoid an accident similar to the Beirut blast.
“We ensure that safety measures are employed to avoid such incident. Our Navy ordnance personnel are aptly trained and equipped to respond to and properly handle any eventualities especially in ensuring such incident will not happen,” he said.
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