DND: Return of Balangiga bells a symbol of US respect for its alliance with PHL

This picture released by the US Embassy in Manila over the weekend shows two of the Balangiga bells in Wyoming being readied for transport to the Philippines./US Embassy/

(Eagle News) — The return of the three Balangiga bells to the Philippines is a “symbol of respect” of the United States for its alliance with the Asian country, the Department of National Defense said.

“It is not only an act of goodwill,” the DND said in a statement.

According to the DND, “it is a laudable historic moment, and a milestone in Philippine-US relations that will mark a promising future between our countries.”

The bells–two of which are in F. E. Warren Air Base in Wyoming, and the other with the US military in South Korea—are slated to arrive today, Tuesday, Dec. 11.

It was President Rodrigo Duterte who, in a previous State of the Nation Address, first lashed out at the United States, whose soldiers had taken the bells from Balangiga town in Eastern Samar as war booty during the Filipino-American war in 1901.

In November, US Defense Secretary James Mattis said the bells would be returned, and that this would help cement the ties between the Philippines and the United States.

Over the weekend, the US Embassy in Manila released pictures of two of the bells being packed for return to the Philippines.