Camp Gen. Rigoberto Atienza or Camp Atienza in Libis, Quezon City was named after the 9th
Chief of Staff of the
Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) ( fil, Sandatahang Lakas ng Pilipinas) are the military forces of the Philippines. It consists of three main service branches; the Army, the Air Force, and the Navy (including the Marine Corps). The ...
. Camp Atienza serves as the headquarters of the 51st Engineer Brigade,
Philippine Army
The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...
.
History
Camp Rigoberto Atienza used to be the location of the Marikina Waterworks during the 19th century. Water from the
Marikina River
The Marikina River ( tl, Ilog Marikina) is a river in eastern Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest tributary of the Pasig River, with headwaters located in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Rodriguez, Rizal province.
The Marikina River u ...
was pumped by the waterworks up the hills of Santolan, and by gravity the waters was brought via
aqueduct to the
El Deposito
The ''El Deposito'' (lit: The Deposit) is an old underground water reservoir in the city of San Juan in Metro Manila, Philippines. It was built by the Spanish authorities in 1880 with a capacity of 15 million gallons to provide the residents of ...
or currently the Pinaglabanan Shrine in
San Juan City. During the
Philippine Revolution and the
Philippine–American War, the Marikina Waterworks was a strategic location which opposing forces tried to take over as this would give them control over the water supply to the 300,000 inhabitants of
Manila
Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...
.
One of the famous battles in the vicinity was the
Battle of Paye
The Battle of Paye was a battle during the Philippine–American War between the United States and the Philippines. It was fought on January 31, 1900, at Sitio Paye near Barangay Balimbing in the town of Boac, Marinduque
, officially the ...
where Gen.
Henry Ware Lawton
Henry Ware Lawton (March 17, 1843 – December 19, 1899) was a U.S. Army officer who served with distinction in the Civil War, the Apache Wars, and the Spanish–American War. He was the only U.S. general officer to be killed during the Philippi ...
was killed fighting with the forces led by
Licerio Gerónimo
Licerio Gerónimo y Imaya (August 27, 1855 – January 16, 1924) was a general of the Philippine Revolutionary Forces under Emilio Aguinaldo. He is remembered in Philippine–American War annals as the opposing general to Major General Henry Wa ...
Originally known as the "Santolan Barracks", the facility was renamed Camp General Rigoberto J Atienza on 8 October 1979 pursuant to GO Nr 377, GHQ AFP dated 6 June 1979 in honor of the first Engineer Officer to served as AFP Chief of Staff and has served as a Second Lieutenant at the Old Santolan Barracks in Libis, Quezon City. Co-located with the brigade headquarters in Camp Atienza is the Headquarters and Headquarters Company and the Engineer Maintenance and Support Battalion (Provisional).
During
Typhoon Ondoy
Typhoon Ketsana, known in the Philippines as Tropical Storm Ondoy, was the second-most devastating tropical cyclone of the 2009 Pacific typhoon season, causing $1.15 billion in damages and 921 fatalities, only behind Morakot earlier in the sea ...
, September 2009, extreme floods affected part of Camp Atienza due to unrelenting rains and the overflowing of the banks of the
Marikina River
The Marikina River ( tl, Ilog Marikina) is a river in eastern Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest tributary of the Pasig River, with headwaters located in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Rodriguez, Rizal province.
The Marikina River u ...
. Despite that the camp was bordered by riprap stone against the river, it wasn’t able to spare itself the brunt of mother nature.
The damaged facilities are as follows; WAC Quarters, Deputy Commander’s Quarters, Office of the Command Communication, Electronics
and Information Office (G6), the Officers’ Club House, and BOQ. The estimated cost of the damaged facilities and equipment was P1. 8M. The damage came after the new gate of the camp has been inaugurated.
The camp's unit was put into action in the repair and restoration of not only the base's facilities but other affected parts of the
Marikina Valley.
51st Engineering Bde swift response to Typhoon Ondoy
Location
Camp Atienza is located on the banks of the Marikina River
The Marikina River ( tl, Ilog Marikina) is a river in eastern Metro Manila, Philippines. It is the largest tributary of the Pasig River, with headwaters located in the Sierra Madre Mountains in Rodriguez, Rizal province.
The Marikina River u ...
about a kilometer north of Eastwood City in Libis.
Facilities
*100m firing range
*Sarge Coffeeshop
*Officer's Club
*BOQ
*WAQ Quarters
See also
* Philippine Army
The Philippine Army (PA) (Tagalog: ''Hukbong Katihan ng Pilipinas''; in literal English: ''Army of the Ground of the Philippines''; in literal Spanish: ''Ejército de la Tierra de la Filipinas'') is the main, oldest and largest branch of the ...
* Camp Aguinaldo
Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo (CGEA), also known as Camp Aguinaldo, is the site of the general headquarters (GHQ) of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) located in eastern Metro Manila, the Philippines.
It is located in Quezon City alon ...
References
External links
51st Engineering Brigade Philippine Army Website
{{Military Bases of the Philippines
Army installations of the Philippines
Military facilities in Metro Manila
Buildings and structures in Quezon City