[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1851]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                THE BELLS OF BALANGIGA MUST RING AGAIN!

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BOB FILNER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 26, 2006

  Mr. FILNER. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support H. Con. Res. 
481, legislation that I have just introduced, which urges the President 
to authorize the return of two church bells, currently on display at 
F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, to the people of the 
Philippines.
  The New York City Council is expected to pass a resolution in support 
of this legislation on September 28th, 2006, the anniversary of a 1901 
battle between Filipino and American soldiers in the town of Balangiga 
on the island of Samar, Philippines.
  As a result of this conflict between Filipino and American troops, 
the bells in the church were taken to the United States as war trophies 
and have been on display ever since at F.E. Warren Air Force Base. I am 
introducing as a result of a vote by the Wyoming Veterans Commission to 
return the bells to the church in Balangiga.
  The citizens of Balangiga have erected a memorial that includes the 
names of the Filipino and American soldiers who lost their lives in the 
1901 incident, and the town honors these war dead on September 28th 
each year. The Filipino people have requested the return of the bells 
to the original setting in the Balangiga Parish where they could ring 
again, after 105 years of muteness, as a symbol of this bond.
  The acts of conflict that surrounded the bells of Balangiga are not 
consistent with the friendship that is an integral part of the 
relationship between the Republic of the Philippines and the United 
States. Filipino soldiers have fought side by side with American troops 
in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, and the bells should more properly 
serve as a symbol of friendship and not of conflict.
  I urge support of this resolution.

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