MALACAÑANG ON Sunday confirmed that the United States will soon return the Balangiga bells, which were taken as a war booty by members of the US army during the Philippine-American War in 1901 from the Catholic church in Balangiga, Eastern Samar.
“We have been informed of the announcement by the US Department of Defense about the Balangiga bells,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry L. Roque, Jr. said in a statement on Sunday, Aug. 12.
He added: “We welcome this development as we look forward to continue working with the United States Government in paving the way for the return of the bells to the Philippines.”
Eastern Samar Representative Ben P. Evardone cheered the news saying the bells “rightfully belong to us as a symbol of freedom and justice.”
“I hope that they will be returned to us in time for the 127th anniversary of the Balangiga Encounter Day on September 28. The return will hopefully finally erase the remaining irritant or vestiges of the Philippine-American War,” Mr. Evardone added.
Northern Samar Representative Raul A. Daza, for his part, said the bells’ return “would, finally, rectify a grievous historical wrong inflicted by the Americans not only on the Samareños but rather on the Filipino nation.”
Mr. Daza also said, “After the many false hopes raised by past U.S. administrations, I hope this development is for real… The bells are not merely religious relics. They are an eloquent symbol of the courage and patriotism of the Filipino. They also are a reminder to the present generation of Filipinos that now, as in the past, they should and can resist foreign domination in any form.” — Arjay L. Balinbin

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