Pinaglabanan Shrine: El Deposito Underground Reservoir

The Museo ng Katipunan is a history museum located within the historic Pinaglabanan Shrine complex in San Juan City, Metro Manila.

It is dedicated to preserving and interpreting the legacy of the Katipunan, serving as a vital educational space that highlights the revolutionary movement’s role in the fight for Philippine independence.

The Museo ng Katipunan is just a short walk from the El Deposito Underground Reservoir. It served as the perfect finale to our brief yet remarkably enriching journey through history.

The museum occupies a compact two-level building organized into distinct exhibit spaces. Its design emphasizes functional circulation and controlled environments for artifact preservation.

The lower level orients visitors before they proceed upstairs to the main galleries, and is split into three sections:

• the reception / orientation area where visitors can opt to view a 10-minute audio-visual presentation on the Katipunan’s formation;
• the diorama section that showcases life-like miniature scenes depicting key events of the Philippine Revolution and the Katipunan (KKK);
• the visitors’ exit area.

The upper level houses the main thematic galleries arranged in eight sections allowing for a chronological walkthrough of the Katipunan’s history.

In our case, we visited on a Sunday morning, just as the museum was opening up. We were not able to view the introductory video on the ground floor, and instead went straight up to the main galleries at the upper floor. We did the diorama section after.

In the following, we shall be walking through the museum’s layout in the order that we visited them.

Please note that while photography is allowed, shooting video requires guests to fill up a form basically stating the purpose of the video, and what you intend to do with the video.

There is not much to see at the first part of the ground floor, except for the audio-visual area and the curator’s office.

As earlier mentioned, we did the main galleries next before heading on to the dioramas.

The second floor contains the museum’s core exhibits, arranged in a linear, thematic sequence that guides visitors chronologically through the Katipunan’s story.

These eight sections include:

• Bonifacio’s biography
• Tagalog language and cultural context
• Kartilya ng Katipunan and the Decalogue
• Prominent members and organizational structure
• Dioramas of major events (continuing the narrative)
• Revolutionary developments
• Emilio Jacinto’s contributions
• Personal narratives, including Gregoria de Jesus (“Oryang”)

The diorama section of the Museo ng Katipunan presents miniature scenes that recreate key events of the Philippine Revolution and the history of the Katipunan.

The diorama exhibits include the following:

Establishment of the Katipunan

Cry of the Revolution

Uprising of the Filipino People

March to El Polvorin

Skirmish at El Polvorin

Attack on El Deposito

Battle of San Juan del Monte

First Martial Rule

First Martyrs of the Katipunan

These dioramas help visitors visualize the events that led to the outbreak of the 1896 Revolution and the battles fought in the San Juan area.

To be continued ...