After more than a century, Filipinos are delighted after hearing that the United States will return the Balangiga Bells that was taken by American soldiers during the war in 1901.
Trude Raizen, the embassy’s deputy press attache said that the US Department of Defense already decided the transfer of Balangiga Bells to the Philippines.
“Secretary of Defense (James) Mattis has notified Congress that the Department intends to return the Bells of Balangiga to the Philippines,” Trude Raizen said.
According to the report, there will be no specific date was set yet on the war artifact’s return.
“We’ve received assurances that the Bells will be returned to the Catholic Church and treated with the respect and honor they deserve,” Raizen said.
“We are aware that the Bells of Balangiga have deep significance for a number of people, both in the United States and in the Philippines,” she added.
President Duterte already tackled before the return of the Balangiga bells and demands for its return in the country.
The bells were reportedly taken from the Balangiga Church in Samar by American troops as a war booty from the “Balangiga Massacre” in 1901.
One of the bells is currently in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment in South Korea, while the other two are in F. E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming.
Post a Comment