Senator Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III said on Thursday that the Balangiga bells’ return in the country was “timely and significant.”
He noted that it would strengthen Philippines-United States (US) relations.
“The bells’ return is a timely and significant gesture that can only lead to the further mending and strengthening of relations between two traditional allies. We’ve insisted on getting them back for generations. Now that the Balangiga bells are coming home after more than a century, we’re thankful,” he said.
The Philippine government, the Senate and the Catholic Church have been asking the US government to return the bells since the 1990s.
The bells were taken by American troops during the Philippine-American war in 1901.
It was only in August that US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis signed the document which paved the way for the return of the bells to the Philippines.
READ: WHAT WENT BEFORE: Returning the Balangiga bells
Pimentel acknowledged the efforts of the “government, veterans groups, historians, local and US academics and every Filipino who campaigned for the return of the bells.”
He also said the return of the bells was a “long-overdue victory” for the Filipino people.
“This is a long-overdue victory for the Filipino people. Unlike in actual war, however, everyone benefits. There are no winners and losers here,” the senator said.
In 2011, Pimentel filed Senate Resolution No. 610, which sought to retrieve the bells and other war artifacts taken by US troops. /ee