(Eagle News) — Senator Ralph Recto on Tuesday, Nov. 13, hailed the reported imminent return of the Balangiga bells to the Philippines.
“This is a joyous occasion for us all,” Recto said.
According to Recto, the return of the bells, after all, “restores a severed historical connection between a proud people and their brave forebears.”
“The bells are more than church artifacts, but will serve as a reminder of courage, which when rang will give out the sound of freedom,” Recto said.
According to Recto, “after more than a century, the descendants will now be able to hear the bells which summoned their ancestors to prayers, to safety, to work, and to the defense of their land.”
A report said the three bells, which were taken as war trophies by the Americans from Eastern Samar in 1901, would be returned to the Philippines after a military ceremony in Wyoming, in the United States.
It was President Rodrigo Duterte who lashed out at the Americans and told them to return the bells in his second State of the Nation Address.
