As chairman, Filner has fast tracked the equity bill, holding the hearing two weeks after re-filing it as H.R. 760 on January 31, with Congressman Darrell Issa (R-California) among the co-sponsors. Issa assured California and Washington State community leaders after the hearing, “This bill will pass.” Issa was the bill’s original sponsor last year with Filner. “This bill, unfortunately, did not get the attention it deserved from the committee last year, but it will be different this year with Bob Filner as chairman."

(The hearing on the Filipino Veterans Equity bill came on the month that marked the 61st anniversary of the 1946 Rescission Act which deprived the Filipino veterans who fought side by side with the Americans in World War II. It also marked the 10th anniversary when Filipino American veterans started their protest marches in front of the White House and Congress demanding for equitable treatment.

“I’m here today to fulfill a pledge to continue the fight for the passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity bill," Alma Q. Kern, national chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations, told the committee. “The time is here, now, to show the whole world that this country does not forget the courage and bravery of those who fought for its freedom."

Kerns - who is a leading member of the newly-formed National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (NAFVE) - recounted the efforts of several grassroots advocacy groups over the years. “We have worked closely with Filipino veterans, civil rights organizations and community leaders to press Congress to rectify a grievous error in judgment," Kern said, noting that this month marks the 61st anniversary of “a betrayal that was shamefully enacted by the 1946 Rescission Act.”

In response to Kern and her co-panelists - Franco Arcebal of the American Coalition of Filipino Veterans, Lou Tancinco of the National Network of Veterans Equity, and Susan Dilkes of the Filipino American Services Group - Rep. Filner thanked  them for keeping the veterans issue alive.

Filipino American Congressman Bobby Cortes Scott (D-VA) was among the 15 government, veterans and community leaders who testified at the hearing.

He presented a written testimony, saying he had to chair another committee hearing. “This is the first step, next is the mark-up, we have to make sure we’re making progress on this bill," he told this reporter.

“We’re hoping to get it passed this year.”

Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI), chairman of the committee on veterans affairs, told leaders of the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity at a post-hearing meeting House approval was a necessary step towards getting the sister bill pass in the senate. He promised them he would hold an April hearing on the bill. But he did not guarantee its passage, citing fiscal constraints.

In contrast, Senator Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawaii) said in reply to this reporter on February 6, “We will get it in, we will get it passed" this year. Inouye re-filed the bill as S. 57 with Akaka when the 110th US Congress opened January 4. Inouye, is author with Akaka of several Filipino WWII veterans’ medical and burial bills that became laws. He is also a member of the powerful committee on appropriations.

The budget for a ten-year period is the bill’s major hurdle, with $200 or $800 proposed monthly pension being floated around.

In a post-hearing interview with this reporter, Filner disagreed with the Congressional Budget Office estimate from previous hearings (about $1 billion for a 10-year period). “They assume that there are more veterans alive than they are, that everybody is entitled to a maximum amount, and I do not think they adequately took into account the decreasing costs because of age," he said in the post-hearing interview.

“So we will try to get better figures for them.”

In his testimony, American Coalition for Filipino Veterans vice president for membership Franco Arcebal suggested a task force composed of “the VA Secretary, the Philippine ambassador and key veterans organizations to determine within 45 days the current Filipino veteran populations, assess their economic and health needs and to provide a realistic budget request."

Most of the witnesses cited the urgency of passing the bill. The veterans, representing the others, are in their 80s, except for Regino Nacua of San Francisco, who is 79. Others who attended the hearing were Cornelio Layo and Regino Barredia, both of Virginia Beach, and Joaquin Tejada and Guillermo O. Rumingan from the nation’s capital.

Other lawmakers who endorsed the bill were Congressman Honda, newly-elected Congresswoman Mazie Hirono (D-HI), Congresswoman Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-Guam) and Congresswoman Juanita Millender-McDonald.

The hearing was mostly a “love fest” among Filner, other Democratic committee members and leaders and supporters who  testified. But the hearing got a bit testy when a Republican lawmaker questioned witnesses on the bill’s cost.

When asked by Congressman John Boozman (Republican-Arkansas) on the total number of surviving veterans in the US and in the Philippines who stand to benefit, Philippine embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Carlos D. Sorreta replied, “Twenty thousand,” with 13,000 in the Philippines and about 7,000 in the US. Sorreta urged Congress to pass the bill “on behalf of a nation that has stood by yours in the name of liberty and freedom in World War II, in the uncertain decades after, and in facing today’s new and grave challenges."

The US Veterans Affairs has not established the figures on which the appropriations will be based. US Veterans Affairs Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits Ronald R. Aument wanted more data before presenting a USVA position on the bill.

Retired US Army Lt. Col. Edwin Ramsey, who fought side-by-side with Filipinos in 1941, gave a ringing endorsement. He said, “The USAFFE forces fought courageously, delaying the Japanese timetable for several  months." Also, remember that only the Filipinos remained loyal to their former colonial masters, while the Indo-Chinese turned on the French, the Indonesians the Dutch, and Malaya and Burma turned on the British. It was this unbelievable loyalty that provided the environment necessary to build the massive guerrilla forces that ultimately saved thousands of American and Allied lives." The American Legion’s Alec Petkoff and the Vietnam Veterans of America’s Richard F. Weidman also endorsed the bill speaking for their organizations.

At a pre-hearing media session with Honda and the Alliance, Lillian Galedo,  Alliance Co-Chair with Jon Melegrito, said, “This is a historic event for our community. We are bringing the voice of the people to Capitol Hill and look forward to working with our friends in Congress to pass this bill."

By Jennie L. Ilustre