The bells of Balangiga are back on RP soil
Yesterday morning, a US Air Force plane bearing three historic bells from the San Lorenzo de Martir Church in Balangiga landed at the Villamor Air Base to formally return the bells of that church that were taken from there 117 years ago. Their safe return is thanks to the efforts of US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, supported by President Donald Trump, and is driven by respect for the Philippines, our friend, partner, and ally and through the valiant efforts of President Rodrigo Duterte who wanted America to return those bells as a sign of respect for our sovereignty!
While the incident that ended with the removal of the bells happened a long time ago, it was a victory for Filipino fighters against American soldiers. At the turn of the century, most American soldiers already fought during the Civil War and in the Indian wars and it was the first time that Americans fought against Asian fighters and they lost this one in Samar and they also lost the fight against our Muslim fighters.
I understand that the two other bells were sent to Fort D.A. Russell in Cheyenne, Wyoming, with the 11th Infantry Regiment, where the bells were displayed as part of a memorial to fallen US service members. After all, American soldiers died in that particular fight. I also learned that good-hearted individuals and groups labored for decades to bring the bells home. Former presidents, Cabinet secretaries, Philippine and US ambassadors, historians, philanthropists, and many others worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the history of the bells and to advocate for their dignified return. But only through the strong effort of President Duterte did the Americans finally agree to have the bells returned and that happened in Manila yesterday noon.
We read that in the fall of 1999, the US Congress passed a legislation that made it unlawful to remove the two bells from the memorial on the base, challenging efforts to lobby for their return. The turning point in this century-long saga came in October last year during the 2017 ASEAN Defense Ministers Meeting in Clark. Mattis met with Secretary of National Defense Delfin Lorenzana to discuss security cooperation and opportunities to further strengthen the US-Philippine defense relationship.
It was in this meeting, that Lorenzana raised the issue of the Balangiga bells to Mattis. Later that day, in a meeting with President Duterte, Mattis stated definitively that it would be his personal initiative to find a way to return these bells. In the secretary’s words “all wars end” and it was time to heal a wound that had strained US-Philippines relations for too long.
At this point, there’s no more point in seeking redress for what happened in Balangiga decades ago, but we would rather see how America regards the Philippines as its staunch ally. After all, we fought World War II on the side of America and won that war. More importantly, America has always come up on the side of the Philippines in many issues of international interest. President Trump has come to the aid of President Duterte including his controversial war against drugs. Come to think of it, if you watched “Narcos” in Netflix, you will see how America has fought a war against drugs on South American soil.
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Allow me to greet very happy birthday to a great friend, Consul Robert “Bobby” Joseph who will spend his 69th birthday here in Cebu City. Last Monday, no less than House Speaker Gloria Macapagal Arroyo invited Bobby to the legislature for lunch so he could award his meritorious contribution to the nation’s tourism. Indeed, tourism is what keeps Bobby Joseph always on his toes.
This year he was honored with the title of Commodore of the Manila Yacht Club (MYC) and I flew to Manila to video this rare privilege. It was the first time for me to enter the MYC. A week ago, we were with Bobby and his family in Nagasaki and he was feted with a sumptuous Japanese dinner at the Europa Club during the birthday of Nagasaki Governor Hodo Nakamura. This is how Governor Nakamura showed respect to his “bugyo” or magistrate that he gave to Bobby Joseph last October. So a pleasant happy birthday, Bobby!
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For email responses to this article, write to [email protected]. His columns can be accessed through www.philstar.com.
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