Fil-Am vets in US press for health benefits

Washington — About 11,000 Filipino World War II veterans living in the United States are pressing Congress to approve legislation that will provide health care for them, hopefully before they all die.

The health care issue has been moving in fits and starts over the past two years. At the last session of the 107th Congress last year, the House of Representatives passed the measure but the Senate was unable to act on it before adjournment.

To get the issue back on track, at the start of the 108th Congress, Hawaii Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye reintroduced a similar bill in the Senate (S68) and a corresponding measure (HR 664) was introduced in the House by Rep. Bob Filner, a California Democrat.

"We owe not only a debt of gratitude to these brave veterans, but we owe them recognition as veterans of the United States military. And we owe them the benefits they were promised. Now in their 70s and 80s, they are in desperate need of health care, and approximately five veterans are dying each day," said Filner, a strong supporter of the veterans.

"There is overwhelming support for HR 664 (The Health Care for Filipino World War II Veterans Act). We must quickly pass this bill to begin the process of restoring benefits that are deserved by the Filipino World War II veterans," Filner added.

Eric Lachica, executive director of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans (ACFV), believes this time around the health care bill will be passed by both chambers of Congress, putting the Filipino veterans on par for the first time with their US counterparts.

The bill when enacted into law will provide an annual budget expenditure of $11.6 million for Filipino war veterans living in the United States who were previously excluded from VA medical care. But 34,000 Filipino soldiers who fought for the United States in World War II but chose to stay in the Philippines get nothing.

Over the years, ACFV has spearheaded the lobbying campaign in Congress, winning partial victories including the Burial Benefits Law in 2000.

"This is the bitter irony — our Filipino veterans are now buried as American veterans in national cemeteries. However, when they are still alive, they are denied access to VA hospitals," Lachica said.

Next on the agenda for Lachica’s group after passage of the health care bill is a monthly pension of $100 for the Filipino soldiers back home who fought for the United States.

However, many legislators are skittish because of the huge costs involved and a long struggle is forecast.

In a letter to The Washington Times last year, Filner called for the repeal of the Rescissions Act of 1946 barring Filipino veterans from receiving US privileges or benefits despite the fact that the Filipinos were drafted into service by an executive order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt at a time when the Philippines was a territory of the United States.

The Rescissions Act, passed by Congress shortly after the end of the war, decreed that such rights, privileges and benefits were the obligation of the new government of the Philippines.

But the new government in Manila did not have any money for that purpose and the veterans were left to fend for themselves.

In effect, except for those who died or were maimed or separated from active service for physical disability, most of the Filipino veterans were denied the same rights given to other World War II US veterans.

"With the participation of Filipino soldiers so vital to the successful outcome of World War II, it is hard to believe that Congress voted to take away their benefits and recognition that had been promised," Filner said. He has on several occasions said that at the very least medical care should be provided to the veterans.

"It is time to restore the dignity of the Filipino World War II veterans and to recognize them for their defense of democratic ideals," Filner said in the letter.

His letter was addressed to Sergeant Shaft, pseudonym of Vietnam veteran John Fales, who writes a once-a-week column on veterans affairs in the conservative newspaper.

The columnist in his own comment on the issue said it was abhorrent that the United States had turned its back on "some of our most loyal and bravest veterans."