The 106th Balangiga Encounter Celebration
September 28th, 2007 | by Ced Solidon |This post is courtesy of Kenneth Gales, a native of Balangiga. This was originally posted on the Friendster Bulletins. Some minor editions were made here.
This year’s commemoration will be the 106th Anniversary of the Balangiga Encounter which for many years now, has become a regular undertaking of the municipality of Balangiga and the province of Eastern Samar.
As in the previous years, hundreds of people are expected to flock to the municipality of Balangiga in order to witness the commemoration rites of the event in which revolutionaries almost wiped out the entire American detachment posted in the area at the time.
The commemoration program would be held in the morning at the municipal plaza where the P6-million Balangiga Encounter Movement and Memorial Library designed by National Artist
Napoleon Abueva now stands. Sen. Loren Legarda is the guest speaker of this year’s celebration.
The return of the Bblls is long overdue. It’s about time it goes to its original and rightful owner, the Philippines. The Bells of Balangiga belong to the people of Balangiga. Anybody who takes the bells away from them steals a part of history and has no right to claim to it. History will speak for itself.
The bells have to be returned to the Philippines because it is owned by the country. This will enhance Philippine-American relationship because the gesture will show that the United States cares for the Filipino heritage.
We hope that as mandated by Abraham Lincoln, no church property should be seized. These bells should therefore be returned immediately.
Let us all call for the attention of our Government to double their effort in retrieving those bells.
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Ced Solidon started the team blog. He currently works as a freelance writer. Aside from that, he also maintains a writing blog, Write Like a Rock Star! He loves to read books and play music.
2 Responses to “The 106th Balangiga Encounter Celebration”
By Fhen Macabasag on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
I am very much delighted in reading this article (The 106th Balangiga Encounter Celebration) about the Balangiga victory. A day before the Balangiga victory, I wanted to write about this historical commemoration and consequently post them in this site. However, time and materials are my constant enemies.
Yes, you read it right — capital V-I-C-T-O-R-Y. I employed the signifier “Balangiga victory” than the neutral side of “Balangiga encounter” or the worst term ever coined, “Balangiga massacre.” During the period of Balangiga commemoration, a friend of mine asked me why Balangiga Victory and not other descriptions. I simply replied:
The signifier “Balangiga encounter” implies neutrality, taking no position in the said complex scenario, while “Balangiga massacre” connotes pro-American side opposing the sentiments of Balangiga people’s aspiration for independence from the colonial power. Whereas, “Balangiga victory” suggests that the said historical event is a triumph of the fighting Balangiga people against its foreign colonizer.
Currently, people, scholars and academians have already found ways in eradicate the previous dominant concept or term “Balangiga massacre.” They have transformed them into a more sophisticated phrase, “Balangiga encounter.” Still, that remains to be debatable. I, for one, am a pro-Filipino adhirant than foreign-oriented or middle-side critic. I stand firm for its coinage as “Balangiga victory!”
By Haruan on Oct 2, 2007 | Reply
we could not retrive those bells (yet) under a regime that is most subservient to US interest…