Finally, justice for our Pinoy WW II vets

Let’s give credit where credit is due. It is indeed a victory for the administration of President Arroyo to finally achieve justice for our Filipino World War II veterans. Our WW II vets would get the equivalent amount of monetary benefits under the Equity Bill that the Philippine government has been lobbying the US Congress to approve, through these years. The Equity Bill for WW II Pinoy vets would come into fruition through another legislative measure under the so-called “economic stimulus” bill as approved by the US Congress.

After three presidents — former Presidents Corazon C. Aquino and Fidel V. Ramos, to deposed President Joseph Estrada, the Philippine government’s campaign finally paid off. I should know because I have covered a number of these presidential state and official visits in Washington where the Filipino WW II Equity Bill has always been in the priority agenda of business each of them took up with their respective counterpart American Presidents during their respective terms in office.

This would turn to reality soon when newly installed American President Barack Obama signs into law the $787 billion “economic stimulus” package that the US Congress have approved on Friday. It would pave the way for the grant of monetary benefits to our Filipino WW II vets whose numbers have dwindled while fighting for equal benefits due them from the US government.

Now largely controlled by Democrats, partymates of Obama, the US Congress incorporated the lump-sum benefit for Pinoy WW II veterans in Section 1002, Title X of the “economic stimulus” package known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. Under the bill, Filipino war veterans living in the U.S. would receive a lumpsum, one-time payment of $15,000 while those living outside the U.S. would get $9,000. Rough estimates place the number of living Filipino veterans in America at 6,000 while those living in the Philippines number around 12,000.

Criticisms were earlier raised by some American lawmakers against the provision for $198 million compensation of non-American veterans. It was thus feared that the insertion in the bill might be removed amid concerns about the recession in the US and the Republican bloc of the U.S. Congress refusing to support the “economic stimulus” bill because they wanted more tax cuts than spending.

Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Secretary Alberto Romulo admitted the provisions on our veterans were in danger of being dropped in the midst of American government budgetary difficulties and demanding new priorities of the US. The Obama administration came into office at the wave of the global financial crisis that started in the US. And certainly, we must accept there is valid ground to argue against giving out monetary benefits to non-American war veterans as a form of “economic stimulus” package.

However, with the strong backing of a number of legislators, particularly those with Filipino bloodlines, the provision remained in the “economic stimulus” bill as approved by US Congress. President Arroyo particularly expressed her gratitude for “every single one of the other U.S. legislators who kept the faith.” They include Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka, both of whom are Filipino-Americans, as well as California Rep. Bob Filner for consistently working hard to promote the interests of Filipino veterans in the U.S. Congress. The President also cited the efforts of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senators Harry Reid and Richard Lugar, former Senator Ted Stevens, Reps. Darrell Issa and Mike Honda.

By the way, it was during President Arroyo’s controversial last-minute trip to Washington where she met with Speaker Pelosi and some of the Fil-Am lawmakers who also attended the National Breakfast Prayer Meeting on Feb.4. What was highlighted in that trip was her not getting — hope against hope, a “pull-aside” meeting with President Obama.

The DFA Secretary, however, cited the President‘s much criticized side trip to the US was vindicated. “Her visit to Washington early this month came at a crucial time: During that visit, she met with key Congressional leaders and made a powerful pitch for our veterans,” Romulo pointed out.

In almost all of her visits to the U.S., in fairness to the Chief Executive, she has not missed any chance to personally lobby for the passage of the Veterans Equity Bill. This, she did, in all of her meetings with members of the U.S. Congress here and there, as well as every opportunity of tete-a-tete with former US President George W.Bush in the US and elsewhere abroad whenever they bumped into each other.

Mrs. Arroyo and Mr. Bush came into office almost at the same time in January 2001. But it took an Obama presidency to have these long years of fighting for equal benefits for our Pinoy WW II vets to finally come through.

“Despite America’s economic challenges, the U.S. Congress voted to correct a historic wrong…and It is fitting that they honored the past as they build for the future,” President Arroyo said. Thus, she looks forward to the signing into law of this “economic stimulus” at the soonest possible time.

While he was still a Senator from Illinois, Obama strongly supported the Equity Bill for Pinoy WW II vets. So there should be no reason or possibility this specific provision in the “economic stimulus” bill might be vetoed by the White House. The signing into law of this vital bill is just a matter now of how soon the White House could schedule the ceremony.

Hopefully, the latest development involving the Supreme Court ruling on the detention of convicted rapist Lance Corporal Daniel Smith will not become a last-minute hitch of this victory for our Pinoy WW II vets. It is not far-fetched that this renewed irritant in RP-US relations over conflicting interpretations of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) could affect it.

There is no telling how this criminal case can become a full-blown diplomatic, if not geo-political, incident that could seriously impair an otherwise long-standing friendship and alliance of the two nations. But this matter is totally different from a historic injustice to our WW II vets. Most of them are in their twilight years and could be called as endangered species as their numbers grew thin with many of them dead and “gone”.