107th Balangiga Encounter

Vol. 8 Issue No. 31

Amidst the presence of Tropical Storm Pablo, the commemoration of the 107th Balangiga Encounter Day continues where Her Excellency President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo was the guest of honor and speaker.

Speaking in front of Balangigan-on, President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo said that the commemoration of Balangiga Encounter only shows that Samarnons know to give importance to love for freedom and liberty.

President Arroyo said that the Balangiga Encounter is the single victory of the Filipino people in fighting against the American colonizer during the Filipino-American War.

President Arroyo added that at present, the Philippines-US relationship is strong, growing, and mature, which is enhanced by millions of Americans with Filipino heritage and hundreds of thousand of American citizens who live and work here in the Philippines.

"The United States and the Philippines remain steadfast allies and friends in times of global economic uncertainty, and we in the Philippines had been working tirelessly to address challenges arising globally to slow down," President Arroyo said.

Mayor Viscuso de Lira, municipal Maoyr of Balangiga, in his message said that the Balangiga Encounter that happened on September 28, 1908, is still recognized as one of the greatest models in our history and given recognition as it emerged victorious in fighting for freedom and liberty.

Mayor de Liraadded that the fight for freedom in Balangiga still continues as the Balangigan-on are fighting for freedom against poverty with their limited resources.

The Balangiga Encounter happened on September 28, 1908, when the residents of Balangiga struggled for liberty against the American troops . Using bolo and disguising themselves wearing women clothes, the men of Balangiga were successful in defeating the American troops members of Company B, 9th US Infantry Regiment, who had victoriously fought in China on the Boxer Rebellion.

Forty-eight of the seventy-four American soldiers died as the result of the assault and twenty-eight native combatants perished in the combat.

The event in Balangiga was condemned by the American forces and made the entire Samar Island into a "howling wilderness", razing houses and properties to the ground, where thousands died and perished as a result of the reprisal.

The Americans cartered away three church bells, as their war trophy, two of these bells are mounted in Cheyenne, Wyoming, USA and one in South Korea.

A monument created by the National Artist Napoleon Abueva, that will reminisce the bravery of those who had fought against the American troops, is erected at the municipal plaza, together with the statue of Captain Valeriano S. Abanador, the municipal mayor of Balangiga who led his people during the uprising.