117-year journey turns US war booty to PHL symbol of closure

As the Balangiga bells made a historic return to the Philippine soil on Tuesday, its journey for over a hundred years is worth revisiting.

According to Bernadette Reyes' report on GMA News TV's Balita Pilipinas Ngayon, the sound of the Balangiga bells was used to signal the start of the Filipinos' surprise attack against the American colonizers in Eastern Samar in 1901.

Forty-eight American soldiers died but the United States forces retaliated and killed around 10,000 residents of Balangiga, including women and children.

This bloody incident was later known as the Balangiga Massacre.

From then on, the sound of the bells has never been heard again in town.

Below is the timeline of the Balangiga bells' century-long journey.

1901 - The American soldiers took the three bells of Balangiga as their war trophy.

Two of the three bells were displayed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in the US while the third bell was brought to a US Army museum in South Korea.

1957 - Jesuit historian priest Father Horacio de la Costa requested the 13th Air Force in San Francisco, California to repatriate the bells.

1989 - Balangiga Historical Society through the National Historical Institute and the Department of Foreign Affairs initiated formal government efforts in reacquiring the bells.

1993 - Then President Fidel V. Ramos mentioned to then-US President Bill Clinton the request to return the bells.

July 24, 2017 - President Rodrigo Duterte, in his second State of the Nation Address, demanded the return of the Balangiga bells.

"Give us back those Balangiga bells. They are ours. They belong to the Philippines. They are part of our national heritage. Isauli naman ninyo. Masakit 'yun sa amin," he said.

July 19, 2018 - Philippine Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez said the National Defense Authorization Act of 2018 only needs the signature of US defense chief Secretary Jim Mattis to bring back the bells to the Philippines.

August 12, 2018 - The US Embassy in Manila confirmed the US State Department's intention to return the bells to Balangiga.

November 15, 2018 - US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Romualdez led the official turnover ceremony of the bells in Wyoming.

December 11, 2018 - The Balangiga bells finally arrived at Villamor Air Base in Pasay City at around 10:30 a.m. Prior to the return to the Philippines, the three bells were transferred to a US camp in Okinawa, Japan.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana described the much-awaited return of the artifacts as a form of "closure" and a gesture to honor the dead "on both sides."

According to a report on Dobol B sa News TV, Philippine Air Force (PAF) spokesperson Major Aristides Galang said 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, he added.

After 117 years, the sound of the Balangiga bells will once again be heard in their place of origin in Eastern Samar after the handover ceremony takes place in the town on December 15. —Dona Magsino/NB, GMA News