The Palace "enthusiastically" awaits the arrival of the three Balangiga bells to the country on December 11, after American soldiers seized it as war booty 117 years from Balangiga town, Samar during the Philippine-American War.

"We consider the occasion as an affirmation of our strong and enduring relations with our long-standing ally, the United States, as we thank them for this gesture that would formally put a closure to a tragic and contentious episode in both our countries' history," said Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo in a statement on Sunday.

A Malacanang release said President Rodrigo Duterte, who demanded the return of the Balangiga bells in his second State of the Nation Address, is expected to lead in the scheduled handover of the historic bells by the United States to the Philippines at 1:30 pm at Villamor Air Base.

The United States Department of Defense will handover the bells to the Philippine Department of National Defense (DND) at the Philippine Air Force Grandstand in Villamor Air Base.

Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana will receive the bells on behalf of the DND from US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Yong Kim.

Two bells will be coming from an Army base in Cheyenne, Wyoming while the other one will be arriving from another US base in South Korea.

Lorenzana said the return of the three Balangiga bells "will be the closure" on the issue

"They will going to unload the bells, they are going to remove from the crate and put on display for people to see," Lorenzana said. DMS