SAN JUAN, a fast-rising city of excellence in Metro Manila, is the site of the first attempt of the Katipuneros in the latter part of the 19th century to fight for freedom, which inspired more Filipinos nationwide to struggle toward independence.
“Walang kalayaan kung walang ‘Pinaglabanan’,” San Juan City Mayor Guia Gomez emphasized. Pinaglabanan is a sitio in San Juan, the site of a historic fight for freedom waged by freedom-loving Filipinos toward the end of the 19th century.
Even San Juan is considered as the “shopping hub” because of the popular tiangge in Greenhills and “the best place to eat in the Metro” as restaurants mushroom all over the city, Gomez still would love San Juan to be remembered where the country’s fight for freedom started.
To remember the heroics of the Katipuneros who fought courageously at the Battle of San Juan del Monte, Pinaglabanan Shrine was erected along Pinaglabanan street. The statue on top of a concrete elevated ground is so simple, it reminds the viewer of the image most Filipino students normally associate with Andres Bonifacio, the camisa de Chino, the red bandanna wrapped around his neck, the rolled-up black pants and the raised hand with a bolo.
“The Battle of Pinaglabanan is considered the first real battle of the Philippine Revolution. It happened here in San Juan where the first shot happened,” Gomez said.
Diorama
TO make it more appealing to the young generation, Gomez said the city created the “Diorama ng Katipunan” located at the “Museo ng Katipunan”.
“We will also soon open a Diorama that will feature the Battle of San Juan,” Gomez added.
The Museo ng Katipunan (Katipunan Museum) is the first and only museum specifically built to showcase the contributions of the Kataastaasang, Kagalang-galang na Katipunan ng mga Anak ng Bayan (Highest and Most Honorable Society of the Children of the Nation). This was the revolutionary movement founded by Andres Bonifacio in 1892 to fight the Spaniards.
Bolos, daggers, cedula, skull, facsimiles of documents and the evolution of the Katipunan flag and other artifacts are just among the things you will see once you put interest in uncovering the bravery of the heroes of the revolution 121 years ago inside Museo ng Katipunan in the city.
The museum was the project of her son, a former mayor of San Juan and now senator Joseph Victor G. Ejercito. Gomez said it is best to inspire the youth through the diorama so that their story and what the Katipuneros fought for will not be forgotten.
The museum that showcases more than 300 dolls from the Balikatan sa Kaunlaran Foundation, showing the chronology of the event of the revolution, will also attract tourists.
The “centerpiece” inside the museum is a project from high-school students on Katipuneros when they tore their cedulas into pieces in protest against the excesses of the Spanish conquistadores.
Likewise, the City Tourism Office headed by Allenmarie Alejo, welcomes students all over Metro Manila and other provinces that tour the museum.
“Museo ng Katipunan brings honor to the bravery, patriotism and self-sacrifice of the heroes of the revolution, ending the colonial Spanish rule,” Gomez said.
Other historical sites in the city include:
- Dambana ng Pinaglaban (war-arena memorial) was built to commemorate the first-ever battle in the 1896 revolution of the Filipino people against more than 300 years of Spanish colonization. This was the site of what was then known as “El Deposito”, the underground water reservoir built during the Spanish times to supply water to Manila.
- El Polvorin (gunpowder depot) was the site where the Filipino revolutionaries launched its first attack, in order to amass more weapons to use against the Spaniards.
- Spirit of 1896 Monument was put up in honor of the courage, determination and willingness to sacrifice of the Filipino revolutionaries who fought for freedom from Spanish oppression.
- San Juan River bridge became a battlefield in both the 1896 revolution against the Spaniards and in the Filipino-American War in 1899.
“We also have old churches and monuments of Dr. Jose Rizal, Andres Bonifacio and Emilio Jacinto so that we can be reminded of their heroism, in the struggle for freedom against the Spanish colonizers,” Gomez added. As a matter of fact, she said, heroism in her constituents still do exist as “taking good care of each other is still commonly practiced in the city”.
She said even how developed a city is, it is very much important to remember the historical contributions of a city “and why we enjoy the freedom that we are having now”.