U.S. and Philippines Reaffirm Ties During Ramos’ White House Visit

Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos and President Clinton reinforced their nations’ economic and security ties Friday, but their working lunch yielded no resolution to disputes over Filipino veterans’ benefits or the return of two Philippine church bells.

The two leaders reviewed the economic crisis in Asia, and their meeting at the White House “gave the president an opportunity to recognize President Ramos’ accomplishments” in democratic and economic reforms, White House Press Secretary Mike McCurry said.

Ramos, who met with Clinton briefly in the Oval Office before their lunch, spoke to reporters alone afterward. Ramos said he was not slighted, because Clinton was still working on breaking news of the Northern Ireland peace agreement.

Noting that the United States and the Philippines “stand together as firm friends,” Ramos said without elaborating that some economic hurdles remain between the two nations and that the Philippines still lacks an “equal partnership in trade.”

On two delicate issues, Ramos said he got Clinton’s support but no immediate resolution: veterans’ benefits and the return of church bells confiscated as war booty.

Ramos said officials are working on a formula to fulfill his country’s wish to return two 100-year-old Philippine church bells from Wyoming, where they are part of a war memorial. He said Clinton promised to push the idea of sharing the bells--returning one and producing a replica for each site.

McCurry said later that Clinton made no promises but “believes that President Ramos has, in good faith, put together a compromise proposal that should be very seriously reviewed.”

“But because of the pending legislation in Congress, the president could not and cannot resolve the matter entirely without further consultations with Congress and interested parties,” McCurry said.

With support from U.S. veterans groups, Sen. Craig Thomas (R-Wyo.) has introduced a bill in Congress that would prevent return to other countries of objects from U.S. war memorials. American troops confiscated the bells almost 100 years ago from a church on the central Philippine island of Samar after other U.S. soldiers massacred thousands of Filipinos on Samar to retaliate for an attack that killed 48 soldiers.