National Museum official denies hand in plan to keep 1 of 3 Balangiga bells in Manila

An official of the National Museum (NM) denies that the institution is directly involved in the proposal to safekeep one of three Balangiga bells, which were returned to the Philippines by the US government earlier this week, to its repository of artifacts and artworks.

Jeremy Barns, National Museum director, released a statement which he described as a personal position on the issue and at the same time assures the institution's commitment to protect Philippine artifacts.

"First, we at the NM were not involved in any way with the resolution that was filed by Senator (Juan Miguel) Zubiri, which we only learned about after the fact - nor in any other  initiative, past or present, that might involve bringing any or all of the bells to the National  Museum," Barns said in a Facebook post.

"But we are certainly always ready to do our job if called upon to host or otherwise care for such artifacts of the highest significance to the national patrimony," he added.

Barns said Zubiri's proposal is "admirable and objectively reasonable."

He added that "certainly we are proud that he regards the NM as a public institution so highly as to propose that we host one Balangiga bell for the benefit of access by the people at large in the national capital, and we thank him for his support and confidence."

The negative reaction of the local church in Samar on the proposal to take one of the bells to Manila is understandable, said Barns, but also "much  too  strongly  worded  as  to  be  provocative  of  unnecessary  controversy  and  acrimony."

"It was sad to read it, as it does not accurately reflect the good relationships that exist between the government cultural agencies and numerous dioceses and parishes which we have assisted, expending considerable government resources and public funds in the process," he said.

"We believe that the way forward is to continue with painstaking efforts to educate and promote awareness of the value of church heritage, and its intrinsic importance to the country, one parish at a time if need be, together with our numerous allies within the Philippine Church itself," he added. — BAP/KBK, GMA News