Filipino Veterans Left Out in the Cold
Pacific Citizen, News report, Pacific Citizen Staff, Posted: Nov 11, 2008
Aging World War II Filipino veterans need to wait another year for their long-sought benefits.
Time has run out on the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill, which would have given lump-sum benefit payments to WWII Filipino veterans who fought alongside American forces.
Congress has adjourned without approving any form of the bill, disappointing those who believed they were very close to winning benefits for Filipinos veterans.
The measure which would have authorized $198 million to eligible Filipino veterans, failed to receive final Congressional approval because of opposition by Senate Republicans, according to a spokesperson for Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, a sponsor of the Senate measure.
Sen. Richard Burr, the ranking member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chose to block Akaka's request to form a conference committee on the Senate floor before Congress adjourned, said Jesse Broder Van Dyke, Akaka's press secretary.
Akaka, chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, has vowed to renew his advocacy in the new Congress next year.
"While Congress voted to establish a nearly $200 million Filipino Veterans Equity fund this year, opponents of Filipino veterans equity successfully blocked the legislation required to provide veteran status and compensation to the few remaining Filipino veterans of World War II," said Akaka in a statement.
"We have been deterred, but we are not defeated. I intend to return to this issue in the next Congress. The march toward equity is not over," he added.
S. 1315, the Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, an omnibus veterans' benefits bill, contained provisions to provide WWII Filipino veterans who served under U.S. military command with recognition as veterans, a limited pension, and increased compensation for their twilight years.
These provisions were adapted from S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act, introduced by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye. Akaka led a successful floor fight for S. 1315 in the Senate, defeating an amendment to remove the Filipino veterans language and securing Senate passage by a vote of 96 to 1.
In the House, the Filipino veterans' provisions were stripped and efforts to negotiate a final version of the bill were blocked when the bill was returned to the Senate.
The measure's failure coincides with Filipino American History Month, which many veterans and advocates regard as salt on a wound.
During WWII, Filipino men who were citizens of the Philippines - then a U.S. possession - fought under the command of the U.S. military. After the war, Gen. Omar Bradley and the U.S. government recognized them as U.S. veterans. But less than a year later, their veteran status was stripped by an act of Congress.
"This was a shameful act against our brothers in arms - who fought side-by-side with America's greatest generation and risked their lives to rescue American prisoners of war," said Akaka.
All of the remaining Filipino veterans are in the twilight of their lives.
"My work on this important issue is not finished," Inouye said in a statement. "When the 111th Congress begins, I will consider all options to gain the legislative authority needed to expend the funds, as well as secure the recognition and honor that Filipino veterans of World War II so duly deserve."
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User Comments
Prometheus Brown on Nov 11, 2008 at 19:30:02 said:
Jerry,
1. The Philippines was a US territory until 1946, when it was granted independence. So, technically, during WW2, Filipinos were actually US nationals. England, France and Italy have never been colonized by America.
2. Soldiers from 66 other countries who were enlisted to fight with the US military were compensated and treated as US military vetarans, eligible for benefits. With the passage of the 1946 Rescission Act, only one country's soldiers was stripped of that status: the Philippines.
3. Much of this country's wealth was built off the exploitation of its colonies, which included (arguably, to this day) the Philippines. This is the least it can do. $700,000,000,000 to bail out banks vs. 200 million (which is .002% of the former total)? Sports stadiums usually cost 300-500 million. I'm pretty sure giving these veterans their due will NOT affect the financial crisis one bit.
Mathilda de Dios on Nov 11, 2008 at 13:17:08 said:
The United States government needs to honor its promises to the Veterans of US led or back wars. Many resources have been appropriately afforded to the veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan so that they may be fairly compensated for their sacrifices. Filipinos enlisted in the US military to fight on behalf of the United States military and its agenda. Many Filipinos have gained US citizenship as a result of their service to the American Military, and they should now be granted the benefit that other veterans have enjoyed for the last several generations.
A sovereign nation that chooses to lend its military to a war it views necessary takes on that responsibility. But in the case of the Filipino veterans, the US military recruited and enlisted them, and the right thing to do is to respect their contributions as US military personal-instead of treating them as second class citizens.
JERRY MCKINNEY on Nov 11, 2008 at 06:38:07 said:
While I truly respect these heroes for what they did, I have to ask why their own country does not compensate them for their actions. I mean, should we ask England, France, Italy, and numerous other countries to list, to compensate our country for what we know was the right thing to do back in WWII. It\'s true that the Filipinos helped our men during the War but they also wanted to rid their country of the Japenese that was killing their people and raping their women. I think that with our country in a financial crisis it would not be right to do this.
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