San Juan LGU: Monuments relocated to ‘pay proper respect’ to heroes, safety reasons

The City Government of San Juan has explained that the relocation of the monuments of Dr. Jose Rizal, Gat Andres Bonifacio, and General Emilio Jacinto to Pinaglabanan Shrine was intended to “pay proper respect” to the heroes who fought the Battle of Pinaglabanan as well as for safety reasons.

The San Juan City Public Information Office (PIO) issued a statement to clarify supposed “baseless and misleading claims” regarding the transfer of the monuments from their original locations, the Plaza ng Masa for Jose Rizal and along the streets of Pinaglabanan Shrine for Bonifacio and Jacinto, to the Pinaglabanan Shrine itself.

According to the statement, the transfer was initiated and unanimously approved by by the San Juan City Council.

“The decision to transfer the monuments was intended to pay proper respect and reverence to the heroes who fought in the Battle of Pinaglabanan,” the statement read.

“With the relocation of the monuments of Rizal, Bonifacio, and Jacinto to the Pinaglabanan Shrine, visitors can now witness and better appreciate a trio of Eduardo Castrillo's masterpieces, which, when combined with the Castrillo ‘Spirit of Pinaglabanan’ sculpture at the inner portion of the Pinaglabanan Shrine creates a remarkable ensemble of 4 Castrillo sculptures that welcomes visitors to the shrine,” it added.

Safety reasons also prompted the city government to transfer the monuments as the local government cited several vehicular accidents reported in the intersections where the monuments of Bonifacio and Jacinto were located.

Approved by the NHCP

Further, the city government emphasized that the relocation of the monuments was approved by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) through its then Officer-in-Charge of the Office of Executive Director Carminda R. Arevalo last September 21, 2021.

In line with this, the San Juan LGU and the NHCP executed an agreement on the transfer of the monuments to Pinaglabanan Shrine wherein both parties also agreed that the monuments will be maintained by the restoration experts of the commission for their better care.

“We would like to emphasize that all three monuments are in strategic locations for visitors of Pinaglabanan Shrine to properly appreciate the artistic representations of our national heroes,” the statement read.

After the lifting of the pandemic restrictions, the city government claimed that more people visited the Pinaglabanan Shrine, with an average of 3,000 visitors per day.

Last Monday, former San Juan Mayor and now Senator JV Ejercito questioned the city government's action relocating the Andres Bonifacio monument from Pinaglabanan Street to the Pinaglabanan Shrine park.

The lawmaker had said that monuments such as these should be in areas visible to the public to remind them of these heroes' sacrifices and to spark nationalism.

Further, Ejercito said he believes that the move was related to their political rivalry with the Zamoras and it was intended to remove the traces of the Ejercitos/Estradas’ projects in San Juan City. —VAL, GMA Integrated News