Residents of Balangiga, Eastern Samar excited for return of bells

The residents of the municipality of Balangiga in Eastern Samar are excited for the return of their church bells after being with the US for more than a century, according to a report on GMA News TV's News To Go on Wednesday.

The bells served as a signal for Filipinos to stage a surprise attack on American soldiers in Balangiga in 1901.

In retaliation, US soldiers massacred all the men of Balangiga aged 10 years and up, and took the bells as war booty.

Residents said the bells are important to them since they symbolize the courage and sacrifice of their ancestors.

The bells will be turned over to the Philippines on November 14. 

US Secretary of Defense James Mattis will lead a ceremony on Wednesday in Wyoming that will mark the return of the seized Balangiga bells to the Philippines after more than a century. The rites will be held at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, a US Defense Department statement said Wednesday.

These will undergo repair before being brought back to the Philippines.

Philippine Ambassador to the US Babe Romualdez said the bells may be back on Philippine soil before the year ends.

The plan is to have the bells installed again in the municipality's church. —KG, GMA News