Rody asks US anew to return Balangiga bells
MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte again demanded that the United States return the three historic Balangiga bells, which the American soldiers took as spoils of the Philippine-American War in 1901.
“They must return the bells. It means so much to us as Filipinos,” the President said at the Presidential Guest House in Davao City over the weekend.
“I would not settle for any replica of the bells. Those bells stood for the blood of thousands of Filipinos who were killed at that time. I want the real bells returned,” Duterte added.
In his State of the Nation Address in July, Duterte demanded the return of the bells.
The US embassy in Manila earlier said it would exert effort to have the bells returned to Balangiga in Eastern Samar. Groups are also reportedly exerting effort to help recover the bells.
The ringing of the bells signaled Filipino guerrillas to attack American troops on Sept. 28, 1901. The attack left at least 48 members of the 9th US Infantry Regiment dead.
In response, US General Jacob Smith ordered the American troops to turn the island of Samar into a “howling wilderness.”
The Americans set Balangiga town on fire and killed around 2,500 Filipinos.
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