By G Hope Libiran
El Deposito is an old underground water reservoir built by the spaniards in San Juan City in 1880. It used Marikina River then as its source to supply water to Manila's residents.
With 15 million gallons of water capacity, El Deposito is considered as the country's largest Spanish artifact to date.
During the onset of the Philippine Revolution, the Katipunan attempted to seize El Deposito from the Spaniards (Battle of San Juan del Monte) in 1896. Spaniards took shelter in the El Deposito building while under attack from the Katipuneros.
It was used as an armory by the Americans and by the Imperial Japanese forces in World War II. Historians say that it also became a hospital for tuberculosis patients, and even a firing range. There were also rumors saying that Japanese soldiers committed suicide in El Deposito to escape capture by Americans.
Efforts to rehabilitate El Deposito began in 2016. The National Historical Commission of the Philippines conducted cleaning of the El Deposito's tunnel in 2018.
Now that it is open, it serves as a valuable asset for historians to bridge the past and present. It also reminds us of the big constributions of San Juan to our country’s history.
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