IT'S final. President Rodrigo Duterte is attending the turnover ceremony for the return of three churchs bells to Balangiga, Eastern Samar on Saturday, December 15.
Duterte decided to show up hours after the Palace announced that he will skip the ceremony anew. But he changed his mind following "persistent requests" for his attendance, Malacañang said Thursday, December 13.
"Due to the persistent requests from the people of Eastern Samar who look forward to President Rodrigo Roa Duterte’s personally bringing the Balingiga bells to the town of Balingiga, the President has decided to attend the turnover ceremony of the Balangiga bells to the local officials on Saturday, December 15," Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said.
On December 11, Duterte was absent during the historic hand-over of the church bells by the United States (US) to the Philippines, as he intended to fly to Samar to lead the turnover rites of bells to Eastern Samar officials.
On late Wednesday night, December 12, Panelo announced that Duterte would not grace the turnover rites in Balangiga because of "pressing matters of governance that require his utmost and immediate attention prevent him from personally bringing the bells to Balangiga on this date."
In a statement issued early Thursday morning, December 13, though, Panelo said the President had made "changes" in his schedule of activities to join the Filipinos in welcoming the return of the three Balangiga bells.
The bells were taken as war booty by US troops in 1901 after killing the town's people.
Two Balangiga bells were displayed at the Francis E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyyene, Wyoming, while the third bell was at a US Army museum in South Korea prior to their repatriation.
Panelo emphasized that while Duterte's physical presence at the ceremonial turnover was "an added attraction" to the event, the Chief Executive focused more on the bell's return from where "they properly belong."
He said the bells, which symbolize the Filipinos' bravery and patriotism for refusing to be subjugated by a foreign power and shed blood to assert the sovereignty of our country, "are now indeed home."
"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 join them in rejoicing the historic event," he said.
"As the Balangiga bells resume their ringing after a silence of more than a century, the booming sounds that will come out of them will resonate around the world with the sterling message that foreign domination nor outside intrusion on its sovereignty has no place in this part of the world," he added. (SunStar Philippines)