Pinoy veterans seek Nevada gov's help on denied lump sum claims

Some Filipino World War II veterans in Nevada, USA, have sought the help of Gov. Brian Sandoval in appealing for compensation claims denied by the US government. According to an article on news site Asian Journal, the veterans and their families met with Sandoval at his office last December 9, where the governor pledged to “do whatever [his office] can” to help Filipino veterans who have been denied of the one-time lump sum payments from the US government. An advocate for Fil-Am veterans in the US claimed that some 24, 000 compensation claims from Filipino veterans were denied because the calimants' names “were not on a roster used by the US government to determine who served in World War II.” Last October, the Filipino-American Veterans of Nevada and Luke Perry, an advocate for veterans, sent a letter through the White House Initiative on Asians and Pacific Islanders, asking President Barack Obama “to issue an emergency executive order” to the US Department of Veterans Affairs and National Records Center in Missouri. Through the letter, the group asked Obama to instruct these agencies “to accept records from Filipinos who have authenticated proof from the Philippine government of their military services.” Filipino veterans who were on the US government list had already received their lump sum. Those residing in the US recieved $15,000 each, while those living in the Philippines got $9,000 each. Perry, whose father-in-law is a Filipino war veteran, told Asian Journal that the White House has yet to reply to the petition, but added that several legislators have “indicated their support” for the appeal, including District 15 state Assemblyman Elliot Anderson, a veteran of the Afghan war and member of the Nevada State Veterans Board, and Nevada Rep. Hoe Heck. ‘Forgotten’ heroes Filipino veterans are undergoing a longer “battle” after fighting in WW II – this time, for the rights promised to more than 250,000 of them who signed up for the US Army. Filipino WW II volunteers did not receive the same pension and benefits their American counterparts enjoyed after President Harry Truman signed the Rescission Act in 1946, which stripped the Filipinos of the benefits stated in the GI Bill of Rights. “Certain practical difficulties exist” in applying the rights to the Philippines, its former commonwealth, the Truman administration said, also citing that it already gave $200 million to the Philippine Army after the war. “However, the passage and approval of this legislation do not release the United States from its moral obligation to provide for the heroic Philippine veterans who sacrificed so much for the common cause during the war,” Truman said. It took six decades for the veterans’ efforts to be recognized through a $198-million appropriation passed by Obama in 2009, which would provide one-time lump sums to Filipino veterans – $15, 000 each for US citizens and $9, 000 each for non-US citizens. In an interview with CNN.com, some of the remaining 15, 000 veterans said they were thankful for the lump sum, but admitted that it was not enough. “After what we have suffered, what we have contributed for the sake of democracy, it’s "peanuts." It’s a drop on the bucket,” said veteran Celestino Almeda. For his part, American Coalition for Filipino Veterans leader Franco Arcebal sadi they appreciate the awaited recognition, as they felt that “the United States has forgotten us in many ways.” Last October, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed AB 199, or the “Filipinos in World War II Social Studies Curriculum Act,” which encourages schools in the US “to include instructions on World War II and the role of Filipinos… who fought courageously in the United States Army.”   — Rose-An Dioquino /LBG, GMA News