BALANGIGA, Eastern Samar—When this town remembers the 116th anniversary of the Balangiga encounter on September 28, church bells will be rung, but the toll may not be as clear as it was over a century ago.
Church and local government officials are hoping the original bells kept as war booty by the United States government will be returned soon. They are not very optimistic the bells will be returned this year.
Rev. Father Serafin Tybaco Jr., parish priest of Saint Lawrence the Martyr, sent a letter to a US military official, with a copy furnished to the Manila Archdiocese, asking the US government to return the Balangiga Bells, which are owned by the church and the Balangiga people.
“The Balangiga Bells cannot be used as ‘war booty’ as they are sacred and need to be preserved with so many values, memories and lessons attached to them. It is a big deal for us church officials to demand the return of the San Lorenzo Bells to the church where it was taken years back,” he said.
In his letter dated July 4, to Col. Stacey Huser, commander of the 90th Missile Wing based at FE Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, he told the military officials of his “hope that we can work with you to have the bells returned to the church from where they were taken”.
“I am sure you are aware the Philippines is a predominantly Catholic country. As such, church bells are an integral part of our heritage, culture and traditions—especially in smaller towns like Balangiga, where the church bells are used to announce weddings, deaths and call parishioners to prayer or announce important community events,” the priest said in his letter.
Balangiga, a fifth-class coastal municipality, is among the most devastated towns hit by Supertyphoon Yolanda in 2013. Yolanda destroyed the church, as well. It was reconstructed with the help of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Tybaco said the parishioners raised P500,000 to buy two new bells, which are being used in the church.
“The fact that people do not have much money to begin with donated sufficient funds to buy two new bells, demonstrates just how important bells are to our parishioners,” he said.
The return of the church bells has been a long-drawn clamor of the residents of this town since they were taken away. Past administrations have made appeals to the American government for the return of the bells, but failed on their plea.
During his State of the Nation Address, President Duterte made a similar demand, putting the issue once again on the limelight.
Balangiga Mayor Randy Graza thanked Duterte for demanding that the US return the Balangiga Bells to the Philippines.
“This remains a big issue up to this generation. The young ones still understand the value and significance of these bells, knowing they were owned by their forefathers,” he said.
Graza said the bells, when returned, should be the original and not replicas. “We want the originals because they have a significance to the history of the Balangiga encounter, which we are going to commemorate on September 28,” the mayor said.
“The church of San Lorenzo was founded in 1854 and over the next three decades, through the sacrifices of our parishioners, acquired three church bells,” Tybaco said.
In 1901 the bells were taken after a military engagement between Filipinos fighting for their independence and the American forces garrisoned in the town.
On that date in 1901, the Balangiga Bells at the Saint Lawrence Parish were taken by American soldiers as a war booty after they massacred 48 townspeople during the Philippine-American War, following their defeat from Filipino guerrillas.
The bells were initially taken and stored in a military camp in Leyte after the encounter, and later in 1904, two of the three bells were carried by the 11th Infantry back to the US where they ended up in Fort DA Russel. The third bell were abandoned by the Army until a military officer found it in 1967 and directed it be put on display.
“These bells are functional, but they cannot replace the esteem, love and devotion for the original bells of San Lorenzo de Martyr taken in 1901,” the priest said.
The parish priest added he is now hopeful that the US government will now listen to their demand.
The Balangiga Bells also represent the bravery of the Filipinos, and these belongs to the Philippines as part of national heritage, the priest said.