The Balangiga Bells are part of our history

I’m glad that there seems to be a groundswell of our firm resolve to recover the Balangiga Bells which rightfully belongs to us. The bells were taken by the American soldiers in 1901 in retaliation to bolo-wielding Filipinos who ambushed the Americans while they were having lunch. The bells were rung by the Catholic church in Eastern Samar to signify the attack by our countrymen on the Americans in our fight for liberation during the Philippine-US revolution. I sincerely hope it will strengthen diplomatic relations between RP-US which has turned out sour during President Duterte’s administration. Up to now Digong refuses to go to Washington on a state visit at Donald Trump’s invitation.

My question now is, when will the Balangiga Bells be returned to us despite many news reports? Is that full of empty promises? Just before the end of last year US Ambassador Sung Kim assured us that they will return the bells “as soon as possible.” Two weeks ago, the US embassy in Manila told our government that US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis notified the US Congress that the Pentagon planned to return the bells of Balangiga to our country. Two of the bells are in Cheyenne Wyoming and one in the US Air Force South Korea. But as I write here, when will that be?

I’d like to reprint my column last year on the Balangiga Bells:

The church bells, which were taken in 1901 from the town church of Balangiga, Eastern Samar were a war trophy the Americans took with them after a massacre of the local residents as retaliation for a bloody ambush led by Filipinos.

This all happened during the American occupation over a century ago, but despite the long passage of time the bells still symbolize something important to our country and I don’t see any reason why they should not be returned. In fact, during President Duterte’s second State of the Nation Address (SONA), he specifically mentioned the United States should return our property if they truly want to be a good ally and he reiterated that it was a topic he was going to bring up if he ever got the chance.

Well, he had the perfect chance last week when he and President Trump were having a series of meetings and discussion at the ASEAN Summit. Is it possible that President Duterte was unable to include this in his list for discussions or did they simply not get around to it? Either way, it’s a pity if he didn’t mention them and would serve as just another example of bluster without action.

I understand, of course, that there are far more important topics that our two great nations needed to discuss. We have, after all, been working together for many years and economy, business, and military are important aspects of our relationship (which, let’s face it, has gotten bit of bruising as of late). Understandably other topics might have needed to take center stage, but that doesn’t mean that discussions on our shared past and Philippine heritage shouldn’t also have their time in the spotlight.

In all honesty, I believed that when President Duterte brought up the bells in the first place his reason was that they represented something far more than just Philippine property that was forcibly taken from us. They also represented how he felt the United States treated our country back then and – in some ways – the way they still treat us now. We’ve always been allies, this is true, but have we always been equals? Obviously not. We’ve come to rely on the US for so much over the past years and while they have been very gracious in giving their help, we can’t ignore that there has also been something in it for them as well.

Not that that is a bad thing. That is the nature of international relations after all – find win/win solutions between countries, allies, and friends. It’s crazy to think you’d get something for nothing and for the most part I’m on board with the concessions we give the United States because we could always rely on them as a strong ally and as an important investor in our economy and business sector. But I guess the question at this point is, if they truly see us as allies then giving us back what they took from us should be no problem right?

In fact, even before the world’s leaders arrived last week for the summit, the US Ambassador to the Philippines had already promised our president that he would work on having the bells returned home before the year ends. Well that deadline has past and so far no word yet. I hope it’s not an issue that was put on the back burner. Again, on the surface it may seem like a little thing, but it speaks volumes about what the US will do for our country when we ask them nicely.

Personally, I am glad the meetings between President Duterte and President Trump went well (and thankful the entire summit went smoothly and without incident). I have always known our relationship with the United States has been important and I didn’t like how our president kept telling them we didn’t need them and puffing up his chest. It’s ridiculous to turn away any allies in the world today and hopefully the summit has reopened doors not just between the Philippines and US, but also between our country and many others. As he promised, President Duterte is fostering stronger relationships with China and Russia at the same time too. It’s good to have many friends around the world as possible.