Returning Balangiga bells ‘the right thing to do’: US Ambassador

September 5, 2017

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim  on Tuesday supported calls for the return of the bells of Balangiga, which were seized by American troops as war booties during the Philippine- American war.

For years, the US government was non-committal to appeals from Manila to have the bells returned.

President Rodrigo Duterte recently called on the US to return the relics.

“I believe it's the right thing to do and I really do hope that we will be able to return the bells soon,” Ambassador Sung Kim told journalists at a dialogue arranged by the US Embassy in Manila Tuesday.

Kim said there is “an ongoing effort” and “an ongoing discussion within the US government and the Philippine government to try and facilitate the return of these bells as quickly as possible.”

One of the three church bells is at the US base in South Korea, while two others are in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Historical accounts said one of the bells was used to signal the surprise attack by Filipino fighters against American soldiers in Balangiga, Eastern Samar. More than 40 US soldiers died in the attack.

In retaliation, the US soldiers re-entered the town and got the three bells as war trophies.

Kim acknowledged that the bells are” emotionally and historically important” for the Filipino people.

“We want to return them,” he said, but added that there are some “issues” in the US that need to be threshed out before the bells are given back to the Philippines.

“It’s difficult for me to predict the exact time, but I assure you that we are deeply committed to making sure that the bells are returned to the Filipino people and I hope  that we will be able to see some progress in the not too distant future,” Kim said.  DMS