President Rodrigo Duterte will attend the turnover ceremony of the Balangiga bells to Eastern Samar on Saturday following the public clamor for his presence at the ceremony, the Palace said Thursday.
This was after Malacañang’s initial announcement that Duterte would not be able to attend the turnover ceremony for the historic church bells in Balangiga, Eastern Samar.
But Duterte changed his mind and decided to attend the ceremony.
READ: Balangiga bells bound for Samar from Okinawa
“Due to the persistent requests from the people of Eastern Samar, the President has decided to attend the turnover ceremony on Saturday,” Presidential Spokesman Salvador Panelo said.
In September 1901, the three bells were taken by US soldiers from the San Lorenzo de Martir Church in Balangiga town in Eastern Samar.
The soldiers took the bells in retaliation for the killing of 48 of their comrades and the wounding of 12 others from the Charlie Company of the 9th Infantry Regiment, which happened following an ambush by Filipino freedom fighters during the Philippine-American War.
In other developments:
• The Catholic Church on Thursday rejected a proposal to transfer one of the three bells of Balangiga to the National Museum.
The Diocese of Borongan, which has jurisdiction over Balangiga, Eastern Samar, said it will not allow the transfer of any of the bells.
• The Diocese of Borongan has prepared a special program for the turnover over of the Balangiga Bells on Saturday.
On Tuesday, Monsignor. Pedro Quitorio, head of the Borongan Diocese-Return of the Balangiga Bells Committee, said several activities will highlight the turnover from the State to the Church this weekend.
“The overall program will have prayer, welcome talk, unveiling and ringing of the bells,” he said.
On Tuesday, all three bells were returned to the country after spending over a century on foreign soil, meeting Duterte’s 17-month-old appeal to the United States to return the bells during his second State of the Nation Address last year. The President was supposed to attend the turnover in Villamor Air Base, Pasay City, on Tuesday but he skipped the event.
Panelo said Duterte considers his appearance in the turnover ceremony as an added attraction, but he still underscores the fact that the bells have been returned after 117 years.
“The descendants of those who perished in one of the bloodiest and tragic consequences of the Filipino-American war rightfully cherish the coming home of a part of our national heritage and the Filipino nation joins them in rejoicing,” Panelo said. With PNA
READ: US returns 3 war trophy bells in historic act