Now that the House committee on veterans affairs chaired by Rep. Bob Filner (D-Ca) held its hearings on the Filipino veterans' equity bill, the community should intensify its lobbying activities to ensure its passage once it reaches the full House and the Senate.
***** Hopes for its passage are very high now that
the number of surviving veterans have dwindled from a high of more than 200,000
at the end of World War II to about 20,000 today. Thus, the amount to be
allocated won’t be as huge as in 1946 when estimates said the US needed at
least $3 billion annually to pay for the benefits for the Filipino veterans
alone. It was probably this huge figure that impelled the US Congress to seek
ways out of President Roosevelt’s commitment to the Filipino soldiers. This was
the Rescission Act of 1946.
***** The equity bill seeks to repeal the Rescission
Act of 1946 which deprived the Filipinos of US pension because Congress
rejected Roosevelt’s promise. The act did not
recognize the Filipino veterans as the equal of American veterans for the
purpose of veterans’ benefits.
***** Repealing the Rescission Act would in effect
restore recognition to the Filipino veterans as former members of the US Armed
Forces at that time and therefore eligible to receive pension. Supporters of
the bill in Congress say it is time to correct this injustice and recognize the
Filipinos’ service in the US
armed forces.
***** After more than 60 years, only a little over
20,000 out of the 200,000 are still alive today. And 5,000 of them are now
American citizens while more than 15,000 are left in the Philippines. It
is estimated that if these survivors are given benefits, it would cost the US treasury
only about $20 million a year.
***** There is no assurance that even after giving
the veterans due recognition that the pension will automatically be granted. It
will depend on the availability of funds.
***** Therefore, for the veterans and their supporters,
the fight for justice will have to be continuous and unrelenting.
The Mail RSS Feed.
