Philippine Air Force museum holds public viewing of Balangiga Bells

MANILA, Philippines — Those interested to see the Balangiga Bells will now have the opportunity to do so starting Wednesday, free of charge.

The historic bells are currently on display at the Philippine Air Force museum at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City, from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. until Thursday.

The bells will be officially handed over to officials of Balangiga, Eastern Samar on Saturday, Dec. 15.

The three historic bells were taken by American soldiers as war trophies in 1901, after they avenged an ambush that killed about 50 of their comrades in the town of Balangiga. It was the greatest single defeat suffered by the Americans during the Filipino-American war.

U.S. forces then razed the town which killed thousands of Filipinos, in what is known as the Balangiga Massacre.

Two of the bells were previously installed at a memorial for fallen U.S. troops at a military base in Wyoming, while the third was put in display U.S. military base in South Korea.

On Tuesday, the bells were finally returned to the Philippines, after decades of efforts to bring it back home. /muf