Bells of Balangiga long overdue

Senator Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. has asked President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to ask President George W. Bush to do something about the Balangiga church bells that are displayed as war trophies in a US army base in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The worst atrocities committed by American troops during the Filipino-American war were in Samar. There’s a book on these atrocities – The Ordeal of Samar. Gen. Jacob Smith ordered his troops to shoot every man, woman and child above 10 years old. This was because many American soldiers on the US garrison in Balangiga were killed by rebels in battle and it was the church bells of Balangiga that signaled their attack.

But to the people of Balangiga, these church bells mark their beginning as a Christian community. The very first step in the christianization of the Philippines was to establish communities. Most of the people were nomads. They had no fixed residence. Instead, they wandered from place to place securing their food supply from forest plants and wild animals. To christianize them, they had to be established in communities and the project was called "bringing the people under the bells."

The bells of Balangiga represent is the main symbol of the establishment of Balangiga. The bells tolled the baptism, marriage and death of every town resident. In short, it called the living and mourned the dead. It was literally the voice of God.

Why should the Americans keep the Balangiga bells in Wyoming? To remind them of their atrocities in Samar? The return of these bells will be a great reminder that Americans and Filipinos started as enemies and ended as allies in Bataan and Corregidor.

Bells play a major role in Filipino communities. They ring three times a day to announce The Angelus, a practice distinctly Catholic. It is basically the recitation of certain prayers at fixed hours. Its name is from the opening words of its Latin form Angelus Domino nuntiavit Mariae – The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary.

The use of bells for religious purposes dates back to the ancient Egyptians. In Christianity, their use dates back as early as the year 400, and their introduction is ascribed to Paulinus, who was bishop of Nola in the Italian town of Campania. They were used not only for church services but issuing alarms from any source of danger. It was not till the 11th century that bell towers became part of church architecture.

A common belief was that the sound of church bells could dispense lightning. Next to calling the living and mourning the dead, dispensing lightning was the third most important function of a church bell.

We are positive that the US army base in Cheyenne, Wyoming would welcome this belated opportunity to return the Balangiga bells to the church were they belong. It would be the very finest way of commemorating this year’s Fil-American Friendship Day.