Nat’l Museum unhappy about Church’s ‘hot reaction’ over proposal to transfer Balangiga bell

FILE: BALANGIGA BELLS. Military personnel carefully pull out one of the three Balangiga bells from a crate upon arrival at the Villamor Air Base in Pasay City on Tuesday (Dec. 11, 2018). After 117 years, the bells, taken as war booty by US troops during the height of the Philippine-American War, have finally returned to the country. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

National Museum’s (NM’s) Director Jeremy Barns on Friday, December 14, was saddened by the reaction of the Diocese of Borongan over the proposal to put one of the Balangiga Bells in the National Museum.

“The hot reaction of the Church authorities in Samar, whom we have been working with for years to rebuild the church in Guiuan since Typhoon Yolanda, is understandable – although much too  strongly  worded  as  to  be  provocative  of  unnecessary  controversy  and  acrimony,” Barns said.

The Catholic Church last Thursday said they “object and strongly stand against” Senate Resolution No. 965, asking the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte to “share” with Filipinos the historic relics by placing one of the bells at the museum.

[READ: Diocese of Borongan objects transfer of one Balangiga bell to National Museum]

It said added that such move is “disrespectful mangling of history and the right of the Catholic faithful of Balangiga to their private property” and that the resolution “does violence to history and the sacred character and purpose of the Balangiga Bells.”

“It  was  sad  to  read  it,  as  it  does  not  accurately  reflect  the  good  relationships  that  exist  between  the  government  cultural  agencies  and  numerous  dioceses  and  parishes  which  we  have  assisted,  expending  considerable  government  resources  and  public  funds  in  the  process,” the NM’s official stressed.

Barns went on and said the museum has no hands on the proposal introduced by Senator Juan Miguel Zubiri last week.

Nevertheless, Barns expressed gratitude to the lawmaker, calling his petition as “admirable and objectively reasonable.

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“We are proud that he regards the NM as a public institution so highly as to propose that we host one Balangiga bell for the benefit of access by the people at large in the national capital, and we thank him for his support and confidence,” he said.

In an interview with reporters earlier, Zubiri found the Church statement “arrogant,” noting that he was only asking the government to lend the Balangiga Bell to NM for a while so that more Filipinos will have more knowledge about the country’s history.

“To borrow lang naman hindi naman ibinibigay. Temporary lang naman ‘yan (I am only asking if we can borrow and not actually give it. It is only temporary). They should not be too arrogant,” Zubiri said.

“Kung ayaw niyo, eh ‘di huwag (If you do not want, then don’t),” he added.

The Balangiga Bells, which was taken as war trophies by American soldiers in 1901, finally arrived in the Philippines last Tuesday.

These were brought back to its home region of Eastern Samar on Friday, a day before it will be formally handed over to the Church of San Lorenzo de Martir in Balangiga, the parish that owns the historic bells.

President Rodrigo Duterte has said he will be attending the handover ceremony on Saturday, but will skip the Catholic mass for the event.

[READ: Duterte: No gov’t officials should be credited for Balangiga Bells’ return]