1754: Year that Bataan province was founded.
12: Total number of cities and municipalities in Bataan.
1942: Year of the Bataan Death March of World War II, where thousands of Filipino and American soldiers captured by Japanese forces were forced to walk from Bataan to Camp O’Donnell, the biggest POW camp in the Philippines, located in Capas, Tarlac.
101: Distance in kilometers traveled by the POWs during the Bataan Death March. The POWs started walking from Mariveles, Bataan to San Fernando, Pampanga, were forced into steel boxcars and taken by rail to Capas, then walked the rest of the way to Camp O’Donnell. They marched under the scorching sun without food and water.
54,000: Estimated number of POWs in the Bataan Death March who reached Camp O’Donnell. Around 5,000 to 10,000 Filipinos and 650 Americans were estimated to have died along the way, while another 15,000 Filipinos were estimated to have died in the prison camp, according to historians.
73,665: Land area in hectares of the “Dambana ng Kagitingan” in Bataan, which was built in honor of the Filipinos who fought in World War II.
Compiled by Schatzi Quodala, Inquirer Research
Sources: Bataan.gov.ph, NSCB, NSO, PDI Archives