KYLE MONIQUE CORTEZ

B.S AERONAUTICAL ENGINEERING

1. What does the document say?

After over a century, the Balangiga Bells are finally back home in the Philippines. Executive
Secretary Salvador Medialdea led Philippine officials at the arrival ceremony at the air base.
With him were Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Philippine Ambassador to the US
Babe Romualdez. Over the decades, the Philippine government had repeatedly asked its ally
to return the bells, which were taken by American soldiers from a church in Balangiga town,
Eastern Samar, as war booty in 1901. After President Rodrigo Duterte asked the US to return
the 3 bells during his 2017 State of the Nation Address, the US said it would consider the
request, and later agreed to give up the bells to forge a stronger friendship with the
Philippines. The bells would finally be home when it arrives in Balangiga town on Saturday,
December 15.

2. What was the provenance or source of the document?

Before they were carted off, the bells tolled in the church of Balangiga town. Filipinos rang
them in 1901 to signal the start of a surprise attack against American troops during the
Philippine-American War. Armed with machetes, Filipinos killed 48 out of 78 American
soldiers in Balangiga, handing the US Army one of its biggest defeats at the time.

3. What was the context of the primary source production?

For the Philippines, the bells symbolize Filipinos' courage to stand up to foreign colonizers,
while Americans see them as a memorial in honor of their soldiers who were killed at the
time. The US called its act of returning the bells “a demonstration of US commitment to the
friendship and partnership, and the alliance” with the Philippines. For the Philippine defense
department, the bells’ long-awaited return is a cue to "heal the wounds" left by the 1901
incident. “In this ever-changing world, it is time to heal the wounds of the past, move on, and
look to the future,” it said.
4. What was the importance of the bells to the present day understanding?
The return of the bells, the US diplomat added, underscored “the enduring friendship,
partnership and alliance” between the United States and the Philippines. The author, Graphic
associate editor Fil V. Elefante with the Balangiga bells.The return of the bells to the
Philippines was first announced by U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Nov. 14
during a ceremony at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Philippine
Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez attended the ceremony which marked the
beginning of the process to return the three bells to Balangiga Church in Samar. According to
the US Embassy, Mattis had informed the U.S. Congress of the Department of Defense’s
intention to return the bells to the Philippines on Aug. 9.
Chrismar Generale
B.S Aeronautical Engineering

The Balangiga bells are three church bells that were taken by the United States Army from
the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir in Balangiga, Eastern Samar, Philippines, as war
trophies after reprisals following the Balangiga massacre in 1901 during the Philippine–
American War. One church bell was in the possession of the 9th Infantry Regiment at Camp
Red Cloud, their base in South Korea, while two others were on a former base of the 11th
Infantry Regiment at Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming.
People representing the Catholic Church in the Philippines, the Philippine government, and
the residents of Balangiga had sought to recover the bells since the late 1950s, but their
efforts were met with frustration for decades. Progress in negotiations was made in 2018, and
the bells finally returned to the Philippines on 11 December 2018, after 117 years.[5]

1. What does the document say?

After over a century, the Balangiga Bells are finally back home in the Philippines. Executive
Secretary Salvador Medialdea led Philippine officials at the arrival ceremony at the air base.
With him were Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana and Philippine Ambassador to the US
Babe Romualdez. Over the decades, the Philippine government had repeatedly asked its ally
to return the bells, which were taken by American soldiers from a church in Balangiga town,
Eastern Samar, as war booty in 1901. After President Rodrigo Duterte asked the US to return
the 3 bells during his 2017 State of the Nation Address, the US said it would consider the
request, and later agreed to give up the bells to forge a stronger friendship with the
Philippines. The bells would finally be home when it arrives in Balangiga town on Saturday,
December 15.

2. What was the provenance or source of the document?

Before they were carted off, the bells tolled in the church of Balangiga town. Filipinos rang
them in 1901 to signal the start of a surprise attack against American troops during the
Philippine-American War. Armed with machetes, Filipinos killed 48 out of 78 American
soldiers in Balangiga, handing the US Army one of its biggest defeats at the time.

3. What was the context of the primary source production?

For the Philippines, the bells symbolize Filipinos' courage to stand up to foreign colonizers,
while Americans see them as a memorial in honor of their soldiers who were killed at the
time. The US called its act of returning the bells “a demonstration of US commitment to the
friendship and partnership, and the alliance” with the Philippines.
For the Philippine defense department, the bells’ long-awaited return is a cue to "heal the
wounds" left by the 1901 incident. “In this ever-changing world, it is time to heal the wounds
of the past, move on, and look to the future,” it said.

4. What was the importance of the bells to the present day understanding?
The return of the bells, the US diplomat added, underscored “the enduring friendship,
partnership and alliance” between the United States and the Philippines. The author, Graphic
associate editor Fil V. Elefante with the Balangiga bells. The return of the bells to the
Philippines was first announced by U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis on Nov. 14
during a ceremony at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Philippine
Ambassador to the U.S. Jose Manuel Romualdez attended the ceremony which marked the
beginning of the process to return the three bells to Balangiga Church in Samar. According to
the US Embassy, Mattis had informed the U.S. Congress of the Department of Defense’s
intention to return the bells to the Philippines on Aug. 9.