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MANILA, Philippines -- After waiting for more than half a century, Filipino veterans who fought side by side with the Americans during World War II will soon be allowed to receive benefits from both the Philippine and the United States governments, according to Philippine Ambassador to Washington Willy Gaa.
In a talk with the Inquirer before he took a Philippine Airlines flight back to Washington on Friday night, Gaa said the Filipino Veterans' Equity Act of 2007 in the US Congress has been set for floor debates both in the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Gaa was in the Philippines for a week to host a golf tournament for more than 100 Filipino-Americans in Sherwood in Cavite and Mimosa in Angeles City.
Gaa said that the bills in the US Congress seek to amend existing US legislation so as to recognize the service rendered by Filipino soldiers and members of the Philippine Scouts during World War II and thus make them qualify for benefits under programs administered by the US Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
"This is the farthest that we have reached in our long road toward equity. Together with our veterans and many Filipino-American groups solidly behind them, we hurdled every obstacle and overcame every challenge to win over the Veterans' Committees of both Houses of the US Congress," Gaa said, adding that previous equity bills did not even reach the sub-committee level.
The Senate bill was earlier blocked twice by Senator Larry Craig of Idaho when presented for unanimous consent.
But Gaa described this as a "minor setback," saying the Philippine government was addressing the concerns raised by Craig and a few US senators who wanted the veterans to continue receiving their P5,000 monthly pension from the Philippine government once they start receive theirs from the US government.
Gaa said the proposed Senate Bill 142 filed by Senator Richard Gordon in the Philippine Senate will amend a veterans law here to allow Filipino veterans currently residing in the country to receive pensions from both Manila and Washington.
The current law, Republic Act No. 6948 also known as "An Act Standardizing and Upgrading the Benefits for Military Veterans and Their Dependents," forfeits pension given by the Philippine government to Filipino veterans once a similar benefit is granted by the US.
Gordon said his Senate Bill 142, having passed in third reading, will now go to the bicameral committee to reconcile it with the House version.
He said the amendment would allow veterans residing in the country to receive their pensions from both Manila and Washington.
The bill will benefit more than half of the estimated 16,000 surviving World War II veterans or their surviving spouses residing in the Philippines.
Gaa said the imminent enactment of Gordon's proposed bill came at the right time, especially since Washington may soon be inclined to pass similar legislation.
Gaa said that retired Army Major General Delfin Lorenzana, Manila's envoy on veterans' affairs, also expressed optimism that the Equity Bill will finally become law.
He said the proposed legislation, which he said will give veterans in the Philippines some $200 to $375 monthly, will be endorsed in Capitol Hill soon.
The pension proposals in the US Congress are as follows: veterans with dependents -- $700 a month in the House version and $375 a month in the Senate version; veterans without dependents -- $500 a month in the House version and $300 a month in the Senate version; widows of veterans -- $300 a month in the House version and $200 a month in the Senate version; medical assistance -- $142 a month in both versions.
Gordon said he was pleased with these positive developments in the US Congress, saying it was one step closer to getting the recognition the veterans deserve.
"Perhaps there is nothing more painful than the sight of one who has offered his life to defend his country, wasted away by decades of neglect," he said.
Last year, Gordon met with US Senators Daniel Inouye and Patrick Leahy and Representatives Bob Filner and Dana Rohrabacher, all advocates of the equity bill in the US Congress. All of them assured Gordon the bill would be enacted.
