Smooth sailing seen for Pinoy war vets bill after Democrat victory

MANILA, Philippines – The victory of several Democratic candidates for senator and congressman augurs well for the proposed Filipino Veterans Equity Act pending in the US Congress, Muntinlupa Rep. Rozzano Rufino Biazon said yesterday.

He told the Serye Café news forum in Quezon City he believes that the bill would have a smoother sailing in the incoming US Congress than it had in the previous one.

“The victory of several senatorial and congressional candidates of President-elect Barack Obama is good news for our war veterans,” he said.

Biazon was part of a House delegation that accompanied President Arroyo on her trip to Washington this year. The House team lobbied with American lawmakers for the passage of the veterans’ equity bill.

Mrs. Arroyo herself did some lobbying work at a dinner with US congressmen.

The US Senate has approved the measure, which got stuck in the House of Representatives because several American congressmen wanted to limit its coverage and the benefits for Filipino veterans.

One proposal is to have the proposed law apply only to Filipino veterans living in the US.

Biazon said Democrats in both the US Senate and House supported the veterans’ equity measure.

“In fact, both Senators Obama and John McCain voted for its approval. It was with the Republicans in the House that we had difficulty getting support for the bill’s approval,” he said.

“But with the Democrats increasing their numbers in both chambers of the US Congress in last Tuesday’s election, I am hoping this measure will soon be approved,” he said.

As for US policy toward the Philippines, Biazon and Rep. Teodoro Casiño of the party-list group Bayan Muna predicted that there would be no substantial changes.

By and large, American security and economic interests remain the same despite changes in the US leadership, Casiño said.

“These interests transcend administrations,” he said.

However, because Democrats are generally more concerned about human rights than Republicans, Casiño said he hoped the Obama leadership would lift the terrorist tag the US has put on the New People’s Army.

“This tag has stalled the peace process here. Its lifting would help revive such process,” he added. 

Meanwhile, Albay Gov. Joey Salceda said he does not see a change in US policy toward the Philippines under the leadership of President-elect Obama.

But Salceda, who is also Mrs. Arroyo’s economic adviser, said he expects the new administration to make the US take the lead in tackling global climate change. – With Celso Amo