Upland barangay of Silay City on the foothills of Mt. Silay (Mt. Mandalagan), roughly an hour’s drive up from the city proper — the site of the Japanese Imperial Army’s last stand in Western Visayas during WWII. After Allied forces landed on Negros in March 1945, Japanese troops of the Nagano Detachment retreated up Mt. Silay to Patag, where they held out through weeks of fighting; the heaviest Allied aerial and land assault began 9 May 1945. Roughly 6,000 Japanese soldiers died there, and vintage bombs, ammunition, and skeletal remains were still being found decades later. ‘Patag’ means ‘flat plains’ in the vernacular. Also the pre-war site of a tuberculosis sanatorium — Negrenses recuperated here rather than travelling to Manila, and Commonwealth President Manuel L. Quezon is said to have visited before his escape to Australia. The old hospital has since been converted into a camping ground and hostel with a pool and seminar facilities. Today Patag is a major part of the Northern Negros Natural Park (declared protected 2005) and a cool-climate weekend destination for Bacolod and Silay residents. Practical note: jeepneys run from Silay from around 6am, last trip down about 4pm; bring your own food, as the resorts have no restaurants.