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MANILA, Philippines—The battle for “justice and fairness” that began over 60 years ago continues to this day for Filipino war veterans who fought alongside American troops in World War II in the Philippines.
And the Filipinos’ battle for veteran benefits from the US Congress has yet to be won, said Philippine Ambassador to Washington Willy Gaa in a speech marking the 67th anniversary of the Military Order to Organize Military Forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, in Washington D.C. on Friday.
Gaa said young Filipino men were among the first to heed then US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s call to fight for world peace under the American flag.
In this way, hundreds of thousands of them were conscripted into the US Armed Forces and fought in guerrilla units and the Philippine Scouts under Gen. Douglas MacArthur, commander of the US Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), Gaa said.
“Tens of thousands gave their lives. Many underwent indescribable hardship and torture. Thousands fell in the Bataan Death March,” he said.
“President Roosevelt’s military order lies at the heart of our continuing struggle to achieve recognition and equity for our brave veterans. It is the most compelling argument that supports our efforts to correct the injustice that resulted from the passage of the Rescission Act of 1946,” he said.
The US Senate has passed its version of the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007 which would provide pensions to 18,000 Filipino veterans who fought under the US flag.
A similar bill is pending in the US House of Representatives, held up purportedly by funding concerns. President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo in her visit to the US last month met with Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other American legislators to lobby for the bill. Cynthia D. Balana
