San Juan City marks 123rd yr of Battle of Pinaglabanan
Published Aug 30, 2019 01:43 pm
By Jhon Aldrin Casinas
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, together with Mayor Francis Zamora and his father Rep. Ronaldo “Ronny” Zamora, led the lighting of the torch and the offering of wreaths at the Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine.
(L-R) Rep. Ronaldo “Ronny” Zamora, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, and Mayor Francis Zamora led the offering of wreaths at the Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine. (San Juan City's Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I am glad that the administration of Mayor Zamora would be breathing new life into the Spirit of Pinaglabanan Shrine in rehabilitating the five-hectare park created in homage to San Juan’s pivotal role in the Philippine revolution,” Romulo-Puyat said in her speech.
The five-hectare memorial shrine is currently being rehabilitated at a cost of P50 million.
“It is our moral obligation to preserve the freedom that our forebears paid in blood. It is our civic duty and social responsibility to preserve the integrity of our country,” she said.
Mayor Zamora earlier bared that the rehabilitation included new walkways, flooring, and beautified landscaping. LED lights will be installed, and public toilets built at the shrine.
“It’s a very historic shrine for us,” Zamora said. “At the same time, this is the only wide and open space that we have here in San Juan.”
The Battle of Pinaglabanan, also known as the Battle of San Juan Del Monte, is widely considered as the first battle between Spanish colonial forces and Filipino freedom fighters in the long and bloody quest for independence.
Hundreds of bolo-wielding Katipuneros, led by their supreme leader Andres Bonifacio, attacked Spanish forces garrisoned at El Polvorin (a gun powder depot) and El Deposito (a water reservoir) in San Juan Del Monte, the city’s former name, before the break of dawn in 1896.
A monument called the “Spirit of Pinaglabanan” was erected at the shrine that stands atop the underground water depository. The masterpiece that honors the heroism of the Filipinos during the battle was made by renowned sculptor Eduardo Castrillo.
(L-R) Rep. Ronaldo “Ronny” Zamora, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat, and Mayor Francis Zamora led the offering of wreaths at the Pinaglabanan Memorial Shrine. (San Juan City's Facebook / MANILA BULLETIN)
“I am glad that the administration of Mayor Zamora would be breathing new life into the Spirit of Pinaglabanan Shrine in rehabilitating the five-hectare park created in homage to San Juan’s pivotal role in the Philippine revolution,” Romulo-Puyat said in her speech.
The five-hectare memorial shrine is currently being rehabilitated at a cost of P50 million.
“It is our moral obligation to preserve the freedom that our forebears paid in blood. It is our civic duty and social responsibility to preserve the integrity of our country,” she said.
Mayor Zamora earlier bared that the rehabilitation included new walkways, flooring, and beautified landscaping. LED lights will be installed, and public toilets built at the shrine.
“It’s a very historic shrine for us,” Zamora said. “At the same time, this is the only wide and open space that we have here in San Juan.”
The Battle of Pinaglabanan, also known as the Battle of San Juan Del Monte, is widely considered as the first battle between Spanish colonial forces and Filipino freedom fighters in the long and bloody quest for independence.
Hundreds of bolo-wielding Katipuneros, led by their supreme leader Andres Bonifacio, attacked Spanish forces garrisoned at El Polvorin (a gun powder depot) and El Deposito (a water reservoir) in San Juan Del Monte, the city’s former name, before the break of dawn in 1896.
A monument called the “Spirit of Pinaglabanan” was erected at the shrine that stands atop the underground water depository. The masterpiece that honors the heroism of the Filipinos during the battle was made by renowned sculptor Eduardo Castrillo.