On the north side of the Carlos P. Garcia Monument.

A freestanding sculptural monument stands on a raised concrete pedestal, featuring at its summit a life-sized statue of a uniformed male figure wearing a cap and jacket and holding binoculars. Set into the pedestal below is a rectangular plaque bearing the seal of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, featuring a brief historical account of the naval engagement between the American fleet and the Spanish fleet, an event that marked the beginning of American colonization of the Philippines.

On May 1, 1898, during the Spanish-American War, the United States Asiatic Squadron, under the command of Commodore George Dewey, engaged and destroyed the Spanish Pacific fleet anchored in Manila Bay in the Philippines. Deweys squadron steamed into the bay at dawn and quickly brought its superior firepower to bear on the older Spanish warships under Admiral Patricio Montojo, sinking or disabling every vessel with minimal losses to the Americans. This decisive naval victory effectively ended Spanish naval power in the Pacific and signaled the decline of Spanish colonial rule in the Philippines, paving the way for increased American military and political control in the islands.

Source of information: en.wikipedia.org

THE
BATTLE OF MANILA BAY
(MAY 1, 1898)

THE AMERICAN NAVAL FLEETS LED BY
GEORGE DEWEY FOUGHT AGAINST THE
SPANISH FLEET UNDER GENERAL
PATROCINIO MONTOJO. THIS SIGNALLED
AMERICAN COLONIZATION OF THE PHILIPPINES.