Given the worsening state of government finances, the matter of improving the lot of war veterans may better addressed when put in their own hands. In short, they may have to depend on themselves for their own upkeep.
Thus, having accepted the fact that more government support will not be forthcoming for a long time, a band of nine retired generals and colonels, all survivors of foreign and local wars, took it upon themselves to help the needy among them. With the national economy in near collapsed after the 1989 coup by military adventurists as backdrop, the Filipino War Veterans Foundation (FILVETS), Inc. was launched.
Fourteen years ago, then Defense Secretary Fidel V. Ramos together with Juanito N. Ferrer, Renato S. de Villa, Fortunato U. Abat, the late Mariano P. Adalem, Ernesto S. Guidaya, Simeon Medalla, Emmanuel V. de Ocampo, and Dionisio S. Ojeda broached the idea of a well-funded non-government group that would help bridge the yawning gaps in government assistance to war veterans. Fate and faith did much to bring this dream about.
Having been catapulted to fame and the corridors of power for being on the people’s side of the EDSA People Power Revolution of 1986, this gang of nine proved to be no mere flash in the pan. Three years after that historic military-backed people’s uprising, Ramos and company were riding even higher on the crest of popularity as they, remaining consistently on the people’s side, snuffed out one military coup after another. In the wake of their spectacular victory during the 1989 coup, the gang of nine gained a leadership stature. The time was, indeed, propitious for the birthing of Filvets.
To their credit, this gang of nine, at the height of their glory, did not forget their comrades who have been relegated to the sidelines – their fellow veterans from the war of a bygone generation, World War II.
Filvets started out with just small funding of P9,000 – P1,000 from each member of the gang of nine.
With the system and precision quite akin to war planning, the campaign for membership and funds was relentlessly pursued by Ramos and company during Filvets’ first five years. Their first step was to get its military partners into the act. The Armed Forces of the Philippines and its allied corporations, such as the AFP Savings and Loans Association, Inc., the Reparations and Separation Benefits System, and the AFP Mutual Benefits Association, Inc., automatically came into the picture when the chief of staff of the AFP and his successors were automatically made trustees.
Firs to be approached were families of veterans who have made it big in Philippine business. This group was led by Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala II of the Ayala Corporation, Andres Soriano III of A. Soriano Corporation, and Belen Lovina Ticzon – Martel, whose fathers served with the US Armed Forces in the Far East during World War II.
In sixth year, Filvets began to reach out to all war veterans in the four corners of the country. To date, there are 200,000 war veterans recognized by the Philippine Veterans’ Affairs Agency, the government agency created to provide for the needs of war veterans, composed mostly off old soldiers in their 80s, who have survived World War II.
As its resources grew, Filvets organized medical and dental missions outside Metro Manila, mostly in Luzon.
In 2001, the foundation started putting up medical outreach clinics in various points in the Visayas so war veterans in that island can avail themselves of regular medical and dental attention. To date, there are now six medical outreach clinics – one in Mindanao in Camp Evangelista, Cagayan de Oro City; five in the Visayas, Camp Lukban in Catbalogan, Western Samar and in the public hospitals of Guihulngan, Negros Oriental, Tagbilaran in Bohol, Tacloban City in Leyte, and Cebu City. This year, three medical outreach clinics will be put up in Iloilo City in the Visayas and in the cities of Dipolog and Butuan in Mindanao.
While medical and dental needs will remain, greater demand for livelihood skills that would help ex-soldiers compete in a civilian world is expected. In 1996, Filvets put up its livelihood training center inside the Veteran’s Center in Taguig, Metro Manila through the Technical and Educational skills Development Authority (TESDA). The Veterans Livelihood Training and Productivity Center offers a wide range of employable skills training program such as computer training, auto mechanic and repair, practical electronics, and food trades courses.
Current chairman Renato de Villa attributes the foundation’s success to "the remarkably prudent fiscal management of (its) finances and the managerial expertise of (its) operating officers. "But, as succinctly put by de Villa, today is no time for the foundation and its officers to rest on its laurels. There are about 70 percent more veterans to reach out to in the years to come and, at a time, when things have gone from bad to worse.
But, as they say behind every cloud is a silver lining. And Filvets enjoys many silver linings. For one thing, they have founding and charter members whose dedication and work have not flagged over the years. For another, the foundation is run by managers whose focus has remained fixed and whose ways are astute and effective. Most of all, the cause of the country’s war veterans has many supporters even among private individuals and business groups. "We are lucky to have such indefatigable fund raisers like Congresswoman of Parañaque Cynthia Villar," says Guiang. "With the synergy of all these factors working for the war veterans’ cause, we have no recourse but to be optimistic."
At Filvets, a little help from all concerned has indeed gone a long way.