Philippine-American war artifact returned

By ROY C. MABASA

October 19, 2011, 3:05pm

MANILA, Philippines — After 112 years, two bells supposedly taken from a church in Meycauayan, Bulacan during the Philippine-American War by an American soldier and brought to the United States as a souvenir will soon travel back to its land of origin.

Strikingly, the return of what Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario described as “a priceless piece of our heritage" was made at the time that the Philippine-American History Month is being celebrated.

In a statement, Del Rosario welcomed the return of the bells by the Sisters of Mercy in Omaha to the Philippine government and people through the Philippine Consulate General in Chicago.

“(The return of) this artifact...at this point of our history is a demonstration of the commitment of both the Philippines and the United States to further solidify our close relations for the mutual benefit of our peoples," said Del Rosario.

Earlier, the Consulate reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that it has successfully recovered the artifact that was reportedly taken from a Meycauayan church in 1899.

The bells are attached to a hard black wood with a metal handle on top. It is not readily evident what purpose the bells serve in a church. They could be Sanctus bells, although many Sanctus bells are groups of three to five bells.

A placard on the block of wood says the bells were taken from a church in Meycauayan, Philippines, “after bombardment by Utah Battery March 29, 1899 by P. O. Thomas, Co. A Battalion of Engineers."

No research yet has been done towards the verification of the information contained in the inscription.

Consul General Leo M. Herrera-Lim, accompanied by his wife Fidelis, traveled to Omaha in Nebraska on October 8 to formally receive the artifact from Sister Judith Frikker, RSM, president of the Sisters of Mercy West Midwest Community.

“We are pleased to return this treasure to the Philippine government and its people,” Sister Judith told the Consul General.

“Our hearts are heavy knowing the loss that this piece represents, and we pray for an end to all war,” she added.

According to Archivist Monte Kniffen of the Sisters of Mercy in Omaha, he found the artifact in July from a set of properties that were originally in the possession of the Sisters of Mercy convent in Red Bluff in California.

It is unknown who gave the bells to the convent but Kniffen said that perhaps a small museum or a family could have turned it over to the convent after noting that they were church bells.