During World War II , Fort Santiago was captured by the Japanese Imperial Army , and used its prisons and dungeons including the storage cells and gunpowder magazines for hundreds of prisoners who were killed near the end of the war ( see Manila massacre ) . The fort sustained heavy damage from American and Filipino military mortar shells during the Battle of Manila in February 1945 . Also , approximately 600 American prisoners of war died of suffocation or hunger after being held in extremely tight quarters in the dungeons at Fort Santiago
Manila massacre
Manila massacre
Fort Santiago