(Eagle News) – Malacanang said the handover ceremony of the Balangiga bells by the United States to the Philippines on Tuesday, Dec. 11, which will be led by President Rodrigo Duterte, is an “affirmation” of strong US-Philippine relations.
The hand-over of the historic bells that were taken as war trophies from a Catholic Church in Balangiga town in Samar in 1901, will be held at a ceremony at the Villamor airbase in Pasay City.
The Balangiga Bells’ return 117 years since they were forcibly taken is a historic moment for both the US and the Philippines.
“We consider the occasion as an affirmation of our strong and enduring relations with our long-standing ally, the United States, as we thank them for this gesture that would formally put a closure to a tragic and contentious episode in both our countries’ history,” Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a statement.
“Tentatively, the arrival of the bells is set on the 11th of December. We are making preparations that they will arrive on the 11th,” Defense department spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said in a separate statement.
Two of the bells were installed at a former base of the 11th Infantry Regiment in F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming
The third bell is at another US base in Camp Red Cloud in South Korea.
US Embassy in the Philippines spokesperson Molly Koscina said the three bells are now in Okinawa, Japan ready for their transport back here in the Philippines.
