Ciriano Cruz was naturalized as an American citizen based on his service to the United States military. His records show that he was with the Batute Infantry Regiment, Bulacan Military Area, a Recognized Guerilla Unit. His military service was confirmed on February 14, 1992 by Philippine government records, which certified that he was a “Sgt.” on the approved Revised Reconstructed Guerilla Roster of the “H” Company.
Just like the case of more than 24,000 Filipino veterans, his claim for veteran’s equity compensation fund was denied because his qualifying service could not initially be verified by the National Personnel Record Center (NPRC).
He joins 4,500 veterans who have filed appeals with the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA).
Cruz has heard about the recent White House blog on recognizing extraordinary services of Filipino veterans but he is doubtful whether this will have a positive impact on his case.
Number of denied claims
The Center for Minority Veterans of the US Department of Veterans Affairs published its report on the number of claims for veterans’ equity compensation. As of July 1, 2013, there were 45,991 applications that were processed: 9,270 approved for $15,00; another 9,555 approved for $9,000; and 24,839 applications were disapproved.
The Manila Regional Office has received more than 4,529 notices of denials. There are 110 cases that were reopened by the Regional Office that are still pending.
With the release on July 9 of a White House blog on “Recognizing the Extraordinary Contribution of Filipino Veterans,” thousands of veterans who filed their appeals are expecting to have their cases reopened to further examine their qualifying military service.
The interagency group
In October 2012, President Obama established the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund Interagency Working Group (IWG). The group was tasked to analyze the “process” faced by Filipino veterans in determining eligibility for equity compensation. Three government organizations were involved in this group: the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DOD) and the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA). All three departments clarified through a detailed report in the White House blog their role in the verification process and justified their policies.
After seven months of dedicated work to determine whether or not the Filipino veterans receive fair review of their applications, the IWG concluded it report.
The VA has since created a special team dedicated to FVEC appeals and will obtain copies of certain Philippine Army documents from the Adjutant General of the Philippines. The US Army did not change the manner of determining service of Filipino veterans as it maintains that it remains confident in the current process to determine valid service.
The Army has developed more detailed response letters for requests for service determination that explain why an application was denied.
NARA has also decreased the response time for service determination requests to 10 days or less.
Accepting PH records
Whether these courses of action are significant to resolving issues of verifying qualifying service for Filipino veterans is doubtful.
The NPRC report noted that there is no single document that lists all Filipino veterans. In fact, there is no “Missouri List.” Their process of verification is by looking at claims folders, finding aids and a variety of rosters complied by the US Army. If Filipino veteran’s service is found in any of these sources, then the qualifying service will be authenticated.
While the Philippine Army records from the Adjutant General Office will be accepted by the VA, it will not be the sole verifying document. The VA has made it clear that verification of service still lies with the US Department of Army. The courses of action taken by the interagency group were geared towards transparency of the process but they do not substantially change the current verification process.
Unless this verification process is changed by enactment of legislation, the VA will rely on the same system of verification. And if the same verification system is maintained, the claims of thousands of Filipino veterans will remain denied for lack of qualifying service.
***
Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 7211963 or visit her website at www.tancinco.com