'WHEN WILL THE BELLS TOLL AGAIN FOR BALANGIGA?'- LOREN

BALANGIGA, Eastern Samar - "When will the bells toll for the town of Balangiga?"

Sen. Loren Legarda made this plaintive cry in a speech commemorating the Balangiga incident 106 years ago which involved a bloody clash between Filipino guerrillas and American soldiers in the town on Sept. 28, 1901, at the height of the Philippine-American war.

Speaking at the commemorative ceremonies headed by Samar Governor Ben Ebardone at the town plaza, Loren deplored that the three church bells of Balangiga, which were taken as "booty" by the American soldiers following the incident, have not been returned to the town of Balangiga 106 years after the battle.

Senator Legarda revealed that she has introduced a resolution in the Senate urging the Philippine government to exhaust all efforts "to persuade the US government to, as an act of goodwill and solidarity between the people of these two nations, immediately return the bells of Balangiga to the people of Samar." The bells are being held by the US government as "war trophies" or "war booty".

According to Wikipedia, the encyclopedia on the web, "This incident was described as the United States Army's worst defeat since the Battle of the Little Bighorn [between US and Indians] in 1876. For Filipinos, the attack is regarded as one of the bravest acts in the war. The subsequent retaliation by American troops resulted in the killing of thousands of Filipinos on Samar, the majority of whom were civilians. The heavy-handed reprisal earned a court-martial for Gen. Jake "Howling Wilderness" Smith, who had ordered the killing of everyone ten years old and over. Reprimanded but not formally punished, Smith was forced into retirement from the Army because of his conduct." Recalling the incident, Loren related that on September 28, 1901, Samareños, dressed as grieving women carried coffins into the church of Balangiga, claiming that the coffins contained the bodies of children who died from cholera. The coffins, however, actually contained large bolo machetes which the villagers, upon the signal tolled by the church bells, used to attack the soldiers of Company#6 of the 9 th US Infantry Regiment.

Loren said that as a result of the incident, in which 24 American soldiers were killed or missing and 20 severely wounded, the Americans turned the town of Balangiga "into a killing field, with [Filipino] casualties estimated at 25,000. Hence, the term Balangiga massacre."

Loren deplored that while many requests have been sent by the Philippine government to the US government to return the bells, they remain in the possession of the US government which considered them "legitimate spoils of war." A law of the Federal government is said to be necessary to return the bells to the inhabitants of Balangiga.

Loren noted that two years ago, the Diocese of Borongan and the Balangiga Parish had joined in an online petition to the Helsinki Commission and the US Congress for the return of the bells. During the celebration of the centennial observation of the start of the Philippine-American war in 1898, then President Ramos also appealed to the US to return the bells.

At present two of the bells are at a trophy park in the Warren Air Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming, while the other remains in the possession of the 9 th Infantry Regime at its base in South Korea.

"While the church bells were taken in an atmosphere of divisiveness, perhaps hatred and revenge, what is essential is that we, the Filipino people, now strive for peace and reconciliation. A symbol of hope and prayer, the bells of Balangiga will likewise signify our goal to pursue all efforts toward unity and compromise," Loren emphasized.

"The victory of our forefathers more than a century ago is indeed a source of pride and inspiration and we shall resolve to do as they did - to unite all our efforts and dedicate our lives to serve our country and our fellowmen. Let the bells toll at Balangiga once again," Loren declared.