The townspeople of Balangiga asked the United States to return the church bells when they received relief from the U.S. military after Typhoon Haiyan hit the town in 2013 . President Duterte demanded the bells ' return in his State of the Nation Address on 24 July 2017 , but he did not raise the issue in a bilateral meeting with President Donald Trump in November 2017 during the 31st ASEAN Summit . In February 2018 , politicians Randy Hultgren and Jim McGovern objected to the bells being returned to the Philippines due to the current human rights record established by Duterte 's Philippine Drug War . The bells were restored and returned by December 2018
31st ASEAN Summit
2017 ASEAN Summits
Balangiga bells