Balangiga bells back home in PH
Bells’ return reflects the strong bonds, mutual respect between PH, US – Kim
The historic Balangiga bells, seized by American soldiers in 1901 as war trophies, tolled for the first time on Philippine soil on Tuesday following their return from the United States.
The bells arrived at about 10:35 a.m. Tuesday at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City aboard a US Air Force C-130.
AFP Chaplain (Msgr) Brig. Gen. Tirso Dolina led the tolling of the bells shortly after Defense Secretary Delfin-Lorenzana and US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Yong
Kim signed the certificate of transfer and inspection, formalizing the return of the bells taken from Balangiga town in Eastern Samar, where US soldiers massacred hundredsof Filipinos to avenge the death of their 48 comrades in an ambush staged by Filipino guerrillas on September 28, 1901.
It’s a time for healing
In his speech, Lorenzana heralded the return of the bells after more than 100 years of absence from Philippine soil.
“Now, they are home and are going back to where they belong. It is a time for healing. It is a time for closure,” Lorenzana said in his remarks at the turnover ceremony at Villamor Airbase in Pasay City.
“After 117 years, the bells of Balangiga have come home and will once again take its place in the Balangiga Church,” Lorenzana said.
“There was one a time when the bells of Balangiga pealed to a different beat, encompassing a dark and painful episode in history which nonetheless teaches a lesson that nobody wins a war,” he added.
Lorenzana asserted that after more than a century, the return of the bells to the Philippines from United States now symbolizes the two countries’“shared histories and ideas, new beginnings, renewed friendships, and a stronger brotherhood."
In a separate speech, Ambassador Kim said the bells are the original bells that hanged in Balangiga’s San Lorenzo de Martir Church. The history of these bells, he said, spans the entire relationship between the United States and the Philippines.
Return underscores enduring friendship
“In the process, they have touched many lives. And their return underscores the enduring friendship between our countries, our shared values, and shared sacrifices," Kim said.
“This solemn ceremony reminds us of the many brave Filipinos and Americans who fought for freedom. In 1901, our two countries were adversaries. That painful conflict soon ended, and our countries became partners and friends.”
“We fought together for freedom and to protect democratic values across the Indo-Pacific region. In World War II and in Korea, our soldiers fought, bled, died, and sacrificed side by side. Together they made possible the peace and prosperity we enjoy today,” he added.
Kim, at the same time, said the return of the Bells of Balangiga lets us reflect on the US-Philippine relationship – where we have been, where we are, where we are going.
“Having now served over two years as US Ambassador to the Philippines, I am convinced that our relationship remains ironclad, consecrated by the service and sacrifice of the Americans and Filipinos who fought side by side for freedom,” Kim said.
"Our shared history is enduring and deeply personal. Our relationship has withstood the tests of history and flourishes today. And every day our relationship is further strengthened by our unbreakable alliance, robust economic partnership, and deep people-to-people ties," he said.
Strong bonds, mutual respect
Kim said on behalf of the United States, it’s a great honorfor him to be at the closing of a painful chapter in the two countries' history.
“The Bells’ return reflects the strong bonds and mutual respect between our nations and our peoples. It demonstrates our determination to honor the past and the sacrifices made together by Filipinos and Americans. And it heralds our bright future as friends, partners, and allies,” Kim said.
“The Bells of Balangiga are home now, in the Philippines, where they belong. Secretary Lorenzana, please take them to the people of Balangiga and to the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir. May they ring in peace and bear testament to the ties and values which bind our two great nations for generations to come. Thank you very much,”he said.
Kim said it has been a very long road home for the Bells of Balangiga to the Philippine people. He said many Filipinos and Americans worked tirelessly for decades to make the day possible and he is so glad many of them are here today.
The US ambassador explained that since former President Fidel V. Ramos first raised the issue of the bells with President Bill Clinton in 1993, virtually every Philippine president has pressed for the Bells’ return.
“As the video we just watched reminds us, President Duterte made a forceful appeal for the Bells’ return during his 2017 State of the Nation address. I was there and heard his passionate call loud and clear," Kim said.
Kim said President Duterte followed this up with a personal appeal to US Secretary of Defense James Mattis who, like all of the people in attendance in the turnover, recognized that returning the bells is the right thing to do and that, by returning the bells, the United States could restore to its friend and ally an important symbol of national independence and demonstrate our commitmentto a relationship of two sovereign nations, two equal partners, and mutual respect.
As part of the transfer ceremony, Philippine and United States officials, led by Executive Secretary Salvador Medialdea, Lorenzana, Kim, Philippine Ambassador to the US Jose Manuel “Babe” Romualdez, US Defense Deputy Assistant Secretary Joseph Felter, and Undersecretary for Civil, Veterans and Retiree Affairs Reynaldo B. Mapagu, inspected the bells.
Also present during the ceremony were outgoing AFP Chief of Staff General Carlito Galvez Jr., United States IndoPacific Command chief Admiral Philip Davidson, who represented US Defense Secretary James Mattis, lawmakers from the Senate and Congress, and other government officials.
Historical background
It was recalled that on that fateful September 28, 1901, the Balangiga bells tolled, signaling the launch by Filipino guerrillas of an ambush against Company C of the 9th US Infantry Regiment, killing 48 American soldiers and wounding 12 others.
In retaliation, Gen. Jacob Smith directed his men to turn Balangiga into a “Howling Wilderness” by ordered the killing of all male Filipinos, aged 10 years old and above, and the burning of the entire town.
American soldiers then took the three bells from Balangiga as “war Trophies.” One of the bells was sent to Camp Red Cloud in South Korea while the other two bells were sent to Fort D.A. Russell in Cheyene, Wyoming, USA.
“To the American, the bells are war relics and symbols of honoring their dead heroes and patriots.”
“To the Filipinos, the Balangiga ambush was an act of defiance from the oppression they suffered from the Americans, a defense of their dignity and their freedom. The bells, therefore, represented the Filipinos' struggle against the Americans and the suffering that they endured, signifying their bravery, courage and heroism.”