Philippine Asian News Today Vol 20 No 23 | Page 28

RP NEWS
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PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY December 1 - 15, 2018
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Balangiga bells finally back home
THREE church bells taken as
war trophies by American soldiers
117 years ago from Balangiga town,
Eastern Samar arrived in the country
yesterday.
The arrival of the Balangiga bells,
among the most famous symbols of
resistance to US colonialism, is seen
to end a dark chapter in relations
between the US and the Philippines.
The bells will be turned over on
Saturday to Church and local officials
in Balangiga where US troops in
1901 massacred hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of Filipinos to avenge
an ambush that killed 48 of their
comrades.
A US C-130 plane carrying the
bells touched down at around 10:30
a.m. at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay
City, where government officials led by
Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana
waited for the formal transfer of the
bells.
Executive Secretary Salvador
Medialdea
and
other
officials
witnessed the formal turnover by US
Ambassador Sung Kim to Lorenzana.
President Duterte is expected to attend
the turnover in Eastern Samar.
A handful of people from
Balangiga town were present. They
cheered as the bells -- two came from
Wyoming and one from South Korea
-- were being unloaded from the plane
and unboxed.
“I’m a little bit excited and a little
bit emotional. At last we have seen the
bells,” said Fr. Lentoy Tybaco, parish
priest of Balangiga, as the bells were
lifted from boxes and displayed on a
runway.
Archbishop
Romulo
Valles,
president of the Catholic Bishops
Conference of the Philippines, said, “It
is with great joy and deepest gratitude
that we, in the CBCP, receive the
good news that, after 117 years, the
three Bells of Balangiga shall now be
returned to their rightful place in the
Parish of St. Lawrence, Deacon and
Martyr, of the Diocese of Borongan,
in the town of Balangiga, Eastern
Samar.”
The bells were taken to the Air
Force museum where they will be
opened for public viewing for two
days.
Kim said the return of the bells
reflect on the “iron clad” relationship
and the “strong bonds and mutual
respect” between the two countries.
“On behalf of the United States,
it is my great honor to be here at this
closing of a painful chapter in our
history,” said Kim.
“The bells of Balangiga are
now in the Philippines, where they
belong. Secretary Lorenzana, please
take them to the people of Balangiga
and to the church of San Lorenzo
(in Balangiga),” added Kim.
Kim said the US decision to
return the bells “was the “right thing
to do.”
“We all believe very strongly that
we should return the bells to the
Philippines where they belong,” he
added.
He said the decision was not
mainly due to the demand of
President Duterte in 2017 for the US
to return the bells. “It’s really much
more than just one president, because
of one demand. This is something
that many people brought out for
very long time. Other presidents have
also raised this history and many
Americans have tried to resolve the
issue.”
“We all know that (war) that was a
painful chapter in the relations of our
countries and hopefully, the return of
the bells today closes that chapter,”
Kim said.
Lorenzana said the return of
the bells signals the healing of the
“painful chapter” in the history of the
Philippines and the US.
“They are home, and they are
going back to where they belong. It’s
time for healing. It is time for closure.
It is time to look ahead as two nations
should with shared history as allies,”
Lorenzana said.
Lorenzana said the defense
department joins the people of
Eastern Samar in “rejoicing the return
of the bells.”
He said the return of the bells
mark the renewed friendship and
strong bonds between the Philippines
and US which he said surmounted
past challenges together and ready to
face the future.
“Let the bells toll, strong and loud,
for our countries,” he added.
The return of the bells follows
years of lobbying by former presidents,
priests and historians, and challenges
from
Wyoming
veterans
and
lawmakers opposed to dismantling a
war memorial, resulting in legislation
that barred their removal.
The battles in Balangiga that
took place towards the end of the
1899-1902 Philippine-American War
marked one of the darkest chapters
of US colonialism.
Historians say the bells were rung
to signal the start of a surprise attack
on American soldiers who retaliated
with a massacre in which women and
children were killed.
Last year US Secretary of Defense
Jim Mattis promised President Duterte
that he would push hard for their
return, which Duterte had demanded
during his annual state of the nation
address.
The move could help to appease
Duterte, who has made a point of
lashing out regularly at Washington,
despite a tight US-Philippines defense
alliance.
He has condemned what he
sees as the United States’ history of
hypocrisy, arrogance and political
interference.
Duterte has yet to visit the United
States as president, calling it “lousy,”
although his foreign minister last
month hinted the bells’ return might
prompt a change of heart.
Chief Presidential Legal Counsel
Salvador Panelo said the return of the
bells puts closure to a “tragic chapter
in the shared history of the Philippines
and United States.”
“As we recall this dark page of our
history, let the world know that our race
will not allow itself to be subjugated by
any foreign power and we Filipinos will
always assert our sovereignty against
those who will attempt to subvert it,”
he said.
Panelo attributed the return of
the bells to the efforts of stakeholders
both from the Philippines and the
US. –(V. Reyes with J. Montemayor, .
Naval, Malaya)
Martial law extended anew: Actual rebellion
doesn’t exist, say critics
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said that
under the 1987 Constitution, martial
law “is an extraordinary measure
imposed only under the extreme
situation of actual rebellion or invasion
and only for a limited period.”
Pangilinan said in the second
request for extension, government
said the rehabilitation of Marawi would
go unimpeded under martial law.
“This is clearly shown to be
untrue. After over one year-and-a-
half of martial law, this administration
has yet to show rehab in full swing
and concrete projects meant for the
rehabilitation of Marawi,” he said.
He added: “We must go after the
enemies of the state by enforcing and
upholding our laws not by disregarding
the very laws we are sworn to enforce
and defend. By setting aside the
laws on bending it in pursuit of our
enemies, I’m afraid that we end up
becoming the dragons that we seek
to defeat.”
Sen. Francis Escudero, said he
sees no new strong basis to extend
martial law.
Escudero
reiterated
the
Constitution empowers the President
to declare the country or parts of
it under martial rule only in case of
“invasion or rebellion when public
requires it,” and not to maintain peace
and order, to improve the economy,
or because the people want it.
“Mindanao can achieve and
has already achieved progress and
peace through the efforts of the
administration not because of martial
law because it can do and not do the
same things with or without martial
law. Can we not maintain this norm
without resorting to extra ordinary
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
measures?” he said.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros said the
latest extension poses a new set of
threats “specifically because the new
extension period will cover the May
2019 elections.”
“Extending the proclamation of
martial law in Mindanao may greatly
benefit the political allies of President
Rodrigo Duterte in the 2019 elections,”
she also said.
(
WENDELL
VIGILIA
and
RAYMOND AFRICA With Jocelyn
Montemayor and Victor Reyes,
Malaya)