AFTER more than 60 years of struggle, the few surviving Filipino WWII veterans are fi nally in the process of claiming their well-deserved benefits.
When the Philippines was a US commonwealth, President Roosevelt conscripted members of the Philippine Army into the US military to fi ght Japan. By the end of the war, as many as 430,000 Filipinos had fought under Gen. Douglas MacArthur, including 60,000 in the 80,000-soldier Bataan Death March. In 1942, Congress recognized their valor and heroism by promising them equal benefits with their American counterparts.
But the 1946 Rescission Act by President Truman reversed this decision—some say for financial reasons, others, because of racism.
President Barack Obama, through a provision in his 1,079-page federal stimulus bill, has since vindicated the Filipino WW II vets and has appropriated funds to compensate the Filipino veterans with lump sum payments.
With only a few of them still surviving, the Philippine government is doing everything it can to make sure that the processing of claims remains on track. Ambassador Willy Gaa assured that they are working closely with the US Department of Veterans’ Affairs and reported that approximately 31,000 claims have already been received and 1,661 checks sent are on their way to veterans both in the US and in the Philippines.
President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo has also signed a directive, ordering the Philippine Veterans’ Affairs Offi ce to set up fast-track centers to help speed up the processing of the veterans’ compensation and to spare them from physical and fi nancial hardship to make the trip to Metro Manila in order to file their claims.
Our Filipino WWII veterans have been fi ghting for so many years. They fought a world war courageously, and yet they had to continue fi ghting a 60-year battle to claim what is rightfully theirs.
Yet, sacrifi ces still have to be made — their lump sum compensation is still far less than what their American-born counterparts receive on a monthly basis. A clause saying that acceptance of payment constitutes “a complete release of claim against the United States” is not very encouraging either.
Still, our Filipino WWII veterans are just relieved and thankful to fi nally be afforded this right. More than their monetary compensation, our Filipino vets are just elated to be fi nally given the recognition that they deserve. (AJPress)
( www.asianjournal.com )
( Published on June 20, 2009 in Asian Journal Los Angeles p. A12 )
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