LAST Wednesday, many kababayans rejoiced about the news that the Obama administration will be looking to reunite Filipino World War II veterans with their families sooner through a new policy.
Balitang America Correspondent Rommel Conclara spoke to Fil-Vets who have been waiting for news like this for decades because for these heroes, time is of the essence.
Conclara featured Filipino World War II veteran Leocadio Ansis, already 88 years old, who originally petitioned his son, Enrique, to legally come to the United States in 1992.
After waiting for more than 22 years, Leocadio was notified that his son’s paperwork has finally started.
“I would say it is too long already for waiting and you realize that some of my peers have faded away already so I would be praying that these people who are still around that their dreams can come true with their families coming to join us,” Ansis intimated in Conclara’s report.
According to the White House, the Department of Homeland Security will partner with the State Department to create a program to allow certain family members of the veterans to come to the U.S. under parole status on a case-to-case basis.
This proposal is in line with President Barack Obama’s executive actions in November to improve immigration.
Conclara interviewed long time advocates for these veterans like Attorney Lou Tancinco, who said that while this development may be long overdue, it is still appreciated because of the need for these veterans to be with their families.
“It’s actually a humanitarian case for Filipino veterans,” said Tancinco on Balitang America.
“Most of them are living alone and some are widows and their partners are not here but they’re only relying on their children who cannot come here because of the long petitioning process and the priority dates are not coming yet,” Tancinco explained.
Tancinco also said she believes that the president’s executive action was one of the few ways that made this plan even possible.
“I think to get a legislation to be passed in Congress is going to take several years, I would say, or at least it would have some opposition again,” Tancinco pointed out. “What is happening right now is that there is more politics than laws and when we put the issue of families of Filipino veterans it’s going to take forever.”
“It is very, very important that families stick together especially now that we’re getting closer to where we are going and maybe they can take care of us also that’s the most important thing too,” Ansis told Conclara.
Meantime, the Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) issued this statement:
“The Time to grant total equity and recognition for Filipino American World War II Veterans is now!”
Atty Arnedo Valera, the executive director of the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) and also the legal counsel of the JFAV based in Virginia said, “accumulatively, the grant of US citizenship to Filipino American WWII Veterans in the 90s, the recent executive action according immigration benefits to children of Filipino Word War II Vets, the initial lump sum under FCEC, to 18,000 Filipino veterans out of the 41,000 veterans who applied for the lump- sum, – all the existing proposed legislations for congressional medals are explicit recognition that now is the time to grant full equity and pension benefits to the remaining WWII vets who are still alive and the widows of the veterans. Now is the time while we remain living witnesses to our 26,000 remaining Filipino WW2 heroes to get the benefits and recognition they deserve.”
JFAV to President Obama: Issue an executive order now
JFAV National Coordinator Arturo Garcia said: “While [we] welcome the piecemeal benefits, we want the full respect and restoration of full benefits similarly enjoyed by all American Veterans. We challenge President Barack Obama to go to an extra mile to issue an Executive Order recognizing the Filipino Veterans now.
The JFAV has written an open letter in 2011 asking his Excellency President Obama to issue this Executive Order to no avail. Now is the time to issue that order and let the ‘Do Nothing US Congress’ to follow up with a law.”
Valera added: “Their sacrifices were not done on a piecemeal or installment basis.They gave their all and the Filipino nation also contribut[ed] one million of its population to achieve the great victory during World War II in the Pacific War Theater for American. It is long overdue, the least that the US Government can do is to rectify this historical injustice.”
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Gel Santos Relos is the anchor of TFC’s “Balitang America.” Views and opinions expressed by the author in this column are are solely those of the author and not of Asian Journal and ABS-CBN-TFC. For comments, go to www.TheFil-AmPerspective.com, https://www.facebook.com/Gel.Santos.Relos
