Personal appearance of Filipino veterans no longer required

CEBU, Philippines - For all Filipino World War II Veterans applying to receive their benefit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the U.S. Embassy is actively working to implement quickly this new law to ensure eli-gible veterans receive their rightful benefits as soon as possible. 

In order to best serve the Filipino veteran community and to provide those eli-gible veterans the opportunity to apply at the earliest opportunity, the application process no longer requires an in-person appearance.

There is no fee to apply for this new benefit. Application forms are available at the U.S. Embassy, the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City and the 13 Philippine Veterans Affairs Offices located throughout the Philippines. For further details on these locations and dates when the U.S. Veterans Affairs Manila Regional Office staff will be on duty to assist veterans applying for the new benefit, go to http://manila.usembassy.gov.

Applications are now being accepted and will continue to be accepted for one year, until February 16, 2010. Those applications being mailed from within the Philippines may be mailed with required supporting documents, and should be sent to: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, 1131 Roxas Blvd., 0930 Manila, Philippines.

Veterans needing assistance with their application may request an appointment with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Manila Regional Office by calling (2) 528-2500 within Metro Manila or 1 800 1888 5252 toll free, or via e-mail at https://iris.va.gov. In many instances, any assistance you may need to complete the application can be provided by calling these numbers and you will not need to appear in- person.

For additional information including eligibility requirements and required supporting documents for application, go to “Frequently Asked Questions” located on our U.S. Embassy website at: http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhs581.html. — PR/WAB (THE FREEMAN)