Guerrilla grandson to gov’t: Ensure Balangiga bells’ return

MANILA, Philippines — The grandson of a guerrilla who led Filipino troops during the Philippine-American war in Eastern Samar in 1901 yesterday appealed to authorities to take steps to ensure that the US government would return the Balangiga bells.

Historian Eugenio Roy Daza, 71, stressed the need to correct the “historical error” surrounding the church bells taken as war booty by the US.

“I would like to request (Foreign Affairs) Secretary (Alan Peter) Cayetano to conduct an inquiry or ask the US ambassador to be honest to the Filipino people if  the genuine bells would be given to us,” Daza said during the Pandesal Forum in Quezon City.

Citing the memoirs of his grandfather Eugenio, Daza claimed one of the genuine bells is in possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment in South Korea.  

“For the pages of our revolutionary history, for the honor and glory of our beloved country and... the town of Balangiga... one of the bells ... was taken by the Americans to the United States. Could we secure its return? That depends on the patriotism of our leaders and the goodwill of the American people,” Daza quoted his grandfather as saying.

The elder Daza led Filipino guerrillas in an attack, which killed 48 members of the US 9th Infantry. Historians said the US military retaliated by killing 50,000 in Samar.

Daza said the two other bells at the F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming are not from Balangiga but from other churches in the Philippines.

He said the US stole thousands of church bells in the country during the war, not as symbols of their victory but as raw materials for rifles.

“Kapag mali ang binigay, naloko na naman tayo,” Daza said.

The US embassy in Manila has confirmed the intention of the US Defense Department to return the Balangiga bells.