Filipino WW2 U.S. Veterans Fight 4 Equity

FVEC, Equity or Not Equity?

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Filing of FVEC Claims thru the VA
Advocacy for FVEC
FVEC, Equity or Not Equity?
Ongoing Lobby post FVEC
Filvets Excluded from "Missouri List"
Sgt Realuyo: Bury Me @ Arlington
FVEC in the Media
H.R. 1 & S. 366
Lobby for S.366
H.R. 2638
Other Bills Enacted to Law
Pending Bills
Legislation GRAVEYARD
H.R. 6897
S. 1315 & S.A. 4572
S. 1315: the Democrats & the Republicans
The American Legion & Other Oppositionists
Senate & House Honoring Filvets
Legislative Reports
Legislative Testimonies
Supporters 4 Filvets
In Their Own Words
PhilAm Organizations & Activists
Immigration & Nationality Act
Hibi & Other Court Cases
Gregorio Rivera's Citizenship
Rescission Acts of 1946
U.S. Presidents & the Filvets
A Plea for U.S. Apology
Philippine Presidents & the Filvets
Filipino WW2 U.S. Veterans Name List A-Z
Balitang Beterano by Col Quesada 2002
Balitang Beterano by Col Quesada 2003
Balitang Beterano by Col Quesada 2004
Balitang Beterano by Col Quesada 2005-2007
Ordeal in War's Hell by Col Quesada
Freedom @ Dawn by Col Quesada
Col Frank Quesada, RIP

http://www.vba.va.gov/VBA/benefits/factsheets/serviceconnected/filipinovets.doc

 

 

 Department of Veterans Affairs

Benefits for Filipino Veterans

 

Which Filipino Veterans Are Eligible for Benefits?

Filipino veterans with service in one of the following military forces may establish eligibility to VA benefits:

·         Armed Forces of the United States.

·         Commonwealth Army of the Philippines with service from July 26, 1941 through June 30, 1946 while the Commonwealth Army was in the Armed Forces of the United States.

·         Regular Philippine Scouts who enlisted prior to October 6, 1945.

·         Insular Force of the U.S. Navy.

·         Special Philippine Scouts who enlisted between October 6, 1945 and June 30, 1947.

·         Guerilla with service prior to July 1, 1946.

 

What Type of Monetary Benefits Are Available?

Service-connected disability compensation, non service-connected pension, and a clothing allowance are the three benefits available to Filipino veterans.

Compensation is a monthly payment to a veteran disabled by an injury or a disease incurred or aggravated on active service.  You must have been discharged under other than dishonorable conditions to be eligible, and must currently suffer from disabling symptoms to receive compensation. 

Pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans with limited income, and who are permanently and totally disabled or age 65 or older.

Clothing allowance is an annual payment to a veteran, if he/she has a service-connected disability or condition that requires the veteran to wear or use a prosthetic or orthopedic device that wears out or tears clothing.  The clothing allowance may also be paid if physician-prescribed medication for a service-connected skin condition causes irreparable damage to clothing.

 

The following table details which benefits are available based on the type of service performed.  Benefits are payable at a rate of $.50 (half rate) or $1.00 (full rate) for each dollar authorized.  Unless otherwise noted, payment is made at the full rate.

Veteran Benefits

Type of Service

Compensation

Pension

Clothing Allowance

Armed Forces of the U.S.

Yes

Yes

Yes

Regular Philippine Scouts and Insular Force of the U.S. Navy

Yes

Yes

Yes

Special Philippine Scouts

Yes

Full rate payments for U.S. residents; half rate payments for non-U.S. residents

No

Yes

Commonwealth Army of the Philippines

Yes

Full rate payments for U.S. residents; half rate payments for non-U.S. residents

No

Yes – Half Rate

Guerilla

Yes

Full rate payments for U.S. residents; half rate payments for non-U.S. residents

No

Yes – Half Rate

 

What Type of Health Care Benefits Are Available?

VA provides hospital, nursing home, and outpatient medical care to certain Filipino veterans in the same manner such care is provided to U.S. veterans.  Regular Philippine Scouts are eligible for health care benefits based on their status as U.S. veterans.  Commonwealth Army, Special Philippine Scouts, and Guerilla veterans are eligible for health care benefits in the U.S. on the same basis as U.S. veterans if they reside in the U.S. and are citizens or are lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

 

For More Information, Call Toll-Free 1-800-827-1000

or Visit Our Web Site at http://www.va.gov.

Compensation & Pension Service – October 2008

(Date downloaded from the VA website 9/6/2009 w/ color higlights made by M.E. Embry)

 

Belated Pay For Filipino WWII Vets a Bittersweet VictoryNew America Media, News Analysis, Rene P. Ciria-Cruz, 2/18/2009

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=618dcde99a2fac43aba625df76b5951a&from=rss

Finally, Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii), chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and one of only three remaining World War II veterans in Congress, pushed to include the authorization in the stimulus bill, after “we got filibustered and everything else,” he told the LA Times. He called the payment "a matter of honor.”

The only way to bypass opponents who had blocked payments in the past “was to put it in a must-pass bill,” concurred Rep. Bob Filner (D-Chula Vista), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, who for 12 years pressed in vain for the full recognition of the veterans.

Equity or Not Equity

Source: Filipino veterans to get long-overdue payments under stimulus bill by Tony Perry and Richard Simon  2/18/2009

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-me-filipino-veterans18-2009feb18,0,1887991.story?track=rss

many veterans, including (Cenon) Antonio, 82 think the payment is inadequate…a retired colonel in the Philippine army.. "This payment is not nearly enough to compensate for what we did," Antonio said.

Retired U.S. Army Col. Ed Ramsey, who escaped the Bataan Death March and organized Filipino guerrilla forces, agrees ("payment is inadequate)."It's just a way to end it all, to make sure there are no more claims," said Ramsey, 91, who lives in Los Angeles.

"This is not really what we wanted, but I've told the veterans that we have to be realistic, said Romeo Monteyro, 74, a retired colonel in the Philippine army who lives in Arizona and was part of the lobbying effort.
Manny Braga…81."commander of the San Diego branch of the Filipino veterans association…"This payment is insufficient

Source: Filipino War Veterans, Supporters Eye Next Moves Balitang America/ABS-CBN News, Rodney J. Jaleco:2/21/2009 http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=d25d5249bccb5444ec9184364f5cdee6&from=rss        Although he’s also thankful, Dr. Angelesio Tugado, 89, a training director for counter-intelligence and member of Gen. Douglas MacArthur’s staff, said they had aimed for but fell short of equity. We presented the bill in 1946 so whatever lump sum payment should begin from that date. Now, it looks like $20 a year, something like they give beggars,” he lamented. Tugado said he will put his $15,000 in a kitty for a new home.Amadeo Urbano, 85, a guerilla in the “Lapham Unit” operating in Central Luzon. “This is our moment,” he enthused I’m already satisfied,” declared Urbano. “Time is of the essence; if we let this issue drag on for, say, another five years, maybe 90 to 95 percent of us will already be dead,” he explained..De Guzman, executive director of the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (NAFVE).We’ve always preferred full equity…In the short-term we take care of the implementation for them, we make sure this short-term victory is done correctly for them; but part of our long-term agenda is picking up the pieces of the equity agenda,” he averred.

Filipino veterans see justice in stimulus bill by Katie Worth
Examiner Staff Writer 2/22/09

http://www.sfexaminer.com/local/40009737.html  
Many of those still living — including Carino — have mixed feelings about the provision passed into law in the stimulus package Alfredo Carino said he plans to accept the funding, even though he felt the payoff did not restore dignity to his service

Belated Pay For Filipino WWII Vets a Bittersweet VictoryNew America Media, News Analysis, Rene P. Ciria-Cruz, 2/18/2009

http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=618dcde99a2fac43aba625df76b5951a&from=rss

“The more pragmatic among us decided it was better to see some benefits for the remaining veterans than to have them die with nothing,” said Macabenta.( Greg) publisher-editor of Filipinas Magazine in San Francisco “A stand-alone veterans equity bill would’ve had absolutely no chance of passage.”

Emil Guillermo, former columnist for AsianWeek, blogs, “In this something-is-better-than nothing world, we leave with what we can.” Guillermo, however, says “it’s not quite the equity we sought

Filipino veterans interviewed by Asian Journal in Los Angeles were happy to receive news of the authorization. “Finally. Many of us have been waiting. Some were resigned to fighting [for the bill], others have already died,” 85-year-old Franco Arcebal told the Filipino-American newspaper.

But Art Garcia of the Justice for Filipino-American Veterans told Asian Journal, “The Rescission Act is not being amended or rescinded, so therefore the inequity still exists.”
Similarly disappointed was Luisa Antonio of the San Francisco Veterans Equity Center, who told the San Francisco Chronicle that she objected to the inclusion of a waiver that anyone who accepts the lump-sum payment surrenders any further claims against the United States. “We need to do something for them, but putting that clause in really killed the hopes of our Filipino World War II vets for the full and true recognition.

my personal response to this question (by Maria Elizabeth Embry):

Please note that whenever similarly situated individuals are not similarly treated, that condition is known as inequity, never equity

 

According to the USDVA:

 

Pension is a benefit paid to wartime veterans with limited income, and who are permanently and totally disabled or age 65 or older.

 

Except for the WW11 members of the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines, Recognized Philippine Guerillas and (New) Philippine Scouts all other honorably discharged members of the Armed Forces of the U.S. are eligible for this particular pension

 H.R. 1 (stimulus bill):
(i) Recognition of Service- The service of a person as described in subsection (d) is hereby recognized as active military service in the Armed Forces for purposes of, and to the extent provided in, this section.

This is Section D
d) Eligible Persons- An eligible person is any person who--

(1) served--

(A) before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941, including among such military forces organized guerrilla forces under commanders appointed, designated, or subsequently recognized by the Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, or other competent authority in the Army of the United States; or

(B) in the Philippine Scouts under section 14 of the Armed Forces Voluntary Recruitment Act of 1945 (59 Stat. 538); and

(2) was discharged or released from service described in paragraph (1) under conditions other than dishonorable.

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