After the long wait, Balangiga bells finally back in PHL

The three Balangiga bells taken by American soldiers over a century ago arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday morning.

The bells arrived at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City around 10:30 a.m. via a US Air Force C-130 that departed from a US military base in Okinawa, Japan.

An official  handover ceremony was scheduled to be held, to be attended by Philippine Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez, US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim, US Embassy spokesperson Molly Koscina, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for South and Southeast Asia Joe Felter, and Philippine Senators Aquilino Pimentel III and Richard Gordon.

"I am very proud and honored to be a part of this event of returning the Balangiga bells to the Filipino people. The returning of the bells was the right thing to do, and it is an important symbol of the Philippines' independence," Ambassador Kim said.

"The bells are now home where they belong," he added.

Kim said the issue of returning the bells to the Philippines first surfaced in 1993 when then-Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos mentioned it to then-US President Bill Clinton. He added that succeeding leaders from both countries had worked together for the return of the bells.

"Our relationship remains ironclad, and the return of the bells is a testament of mutual respect and shared values between our two great nations," Kim said.

Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the return of the bells “marks an important milestone and gives new meaning to the shared history between the Philippines and the United States.”

“Stakeholders from both the Philippines and the United States worked tirelessly for the return of the Balangiga bells,” Panelo said. “They will be remembered as true friends of the Philippines and of Filipino heritage.”

President Rodrigo Duterte will be present during the handover of the Balangiga bells on December 15 in Eastern Samar.

Citing Philippine Air Force spokesperson Major Aristides Galang, Manny Vargas reported on Dobol B sa News TV that the bells will be displayed at the PAF Museum from Wednesday morning to Thursday afternoon.

The viewing of the Balangiga bells will be free of charge, Galang said.

The three bells were taken by American soldiers in September 1901 from an Eastern Samar church after their retaliatory attack on Filipino guerrillas who earlier killed 48 American soldiers in storming the 9th US Infantry Regiment during the war.

Before taking the bells, the Americans razed Eastern Samar towns  and sent males aged 10 years and above to prison.

The Americans, however, later fought side-by-side Filipino soldiers to liberate the Philippines from Japanese occupation in 1945.

Since then, Manila has inked at least three military agreements with Washington: the 1951 Mutual Defense Agreement, the 1999 Visiting Forces Agreement, and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement inked in February 2016

Koscina earlier said the return of the bells is evidence of the Philippines and the United States' enduring and important relationship. —with Joviland Rita and Virgil Lopez/KBK, GMA News