House resolution on Balangiga bells’ return forwarded to US Congress

The Lower Chamber's resolution seeking the United States’ (US) return of the Balangiga bells has been handed over to the Office of Speaker Paul Ryan of the United States Congress.

Eastern Samar Rep. Ben Evardone disclosed that a copy of House Resolution (HR) 1337, which was approved on September 26 by the House of Representatives, was handed over to Jonathan W. Burks, Chief of Staff of Speaker Ryan at the Speaker's Balcony in Washington, D.C.

"Aside from souvenir from Speaker (Pantaleon) Alvarez being given by his Chief of Staff Atty. Darren de Jesus, we also gave Mr. Burks a copy of the Congress resolution on the return of Balangiga Bells," he said.

Evardone, one of the authors of the resolution, said the US speaker was not around because he was in Puerto Rico for relief operations.

As chairman of the House Committee on Banks and Financial Intermediaries, Evardone attended the three-day annual meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund in Washington, D.C. and the Philippine economic briefing in New York sponsored by Citibank, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley and Standard Chartered.

War trophies Last month, the House of Representatives unanimously approved HR 1337 seeking Washington's return of the Balangiga bells which were seized by the US Army in 1901 during the Philippine-American War.

HR 1337 expresses the Lower Chamber’s support to the appeal of President Duterte to the US government to return the Balangiga bells that were taken as "trophies of war" by the American military troops in 1901.

"Return the Balangiga Bells. It's ours. It's part of our heritage,” the resolution said.

It was authored by Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez, House Majority Floor Leader Rudy Fariñas, Minority Leader Danilo Suarez, Evardone and Northern Samar Rep. Raul Daza.

‘Right thing to do’ US Ambassador Sung Kim earlier said the return of Balangiga bells is “the right thing to do,” and vowed to work with the Philippine government "to come up with the right or the best solution" for the return of the bells.

Evardone had urged the Philippine government “to persevere and take further steps in its diplomatic efforts” to recover the Balangiga bells.

Amid the Lower Chamber’s passage of resolutions in the 15th and 16th Congresses calling for the US’ return of the bells, the Balangiga bells still remain at the hands of the US.

In Sept. 2016, President Duterte first expressed his advocacy for the return of the three Balangiga bells in his speech at a Philippine Air Force event, and recently reiterated in his 2017 State-of-the-Nation Address.