Kuwentong kababalaghan: Paranormal sightings reported in SBMA’s Building 255

In 1899, the Subic Bay Freeport was established as a United States (US) Naval Base before the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) assumed governance in 1992, converting the area into an economic zone.

Following the Spanish-American War, the US took over the base and developed it into a naval facility. After the US military evacuated, the SBMA inherited numerous infrastructures, including Building 255.

Buildings such as 255 and 229 were designed to withstand aerial bombings, being classified as air raid shelters. Instead of constructing new facilities, the SBMA repurposed these historic structures for administrative operations.

However, employees have recounted unusual occurrences in Building 255. According to a Law Enforcement Department (LED) officer on night duty, he once checked each room for unlocked doors, a task that typically takes 20 to 30 minutes in the two-storey building.

During one of these shifts, the officer checked the comfort rooms and noticed two old US military boots—reminiscent of those used during the Vietnam War—inside a closed toilet cubicle. Assuming someone was working late, he returned to his post nearby.

After more than an hour, he saw that no one had exited the comfort room. Upon inspection, the cubicle door was now open, but no one was inside.

Other LED officers reported similar experiences, with sightings of old US military boots in the same cubicle.

Today, outsourced security personnel guard the building, and there have been no recent reports of the boots appearing.

Whether these sightings are paranormal or a trick of the mind remains a mystery, but the stories add to the lore of Subic Bay’s historic buildings.