US Vet office nixes full benefits for Pinoy vets

Washington, DC - Fulfilling the Filipino World War II veterans’ lingering desire for benefits being enjoyed by their American counterparts appears bleak after the Bush administration opposed on Wednesday (evening Manila time) the enactment of the proposed Philippine Veterans Equity Act of 2007. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)’s Deputy Undersecretary for Benefits Ronald R. Aument said if Filipino veterans, especially the 13,000 of them living in the Philippines, were to receive the same benefits which veteran GIs get, they will acquire enormous purchasing power since prices of goods in their country is way cheaper than in the U.S. mainland. “While we’re grateful for the military service and the sacrifices these Filipino veterans made during World War II, the VA does not support enactment of this bill because it will disproportionately favor Filipino veterans over U.S. veterans," Aument told the U.S. Senate’s committee on veterans affairs hearing Wednesday. As of 2003, the average annual family income in the Philippines was P135,000 ($2,864). In contrast, the maximum annual rate for a U.S. veteran with one dependent is equivalent to P685,000 ($14,313). “Thus, Filipino veterans and their survivors receiving full-rate VA pensions while living in the Philippines would enjoy a much higher standard of living relative to the general population in the Philippines," Aument said. Also known as S. 57, the equity bill seeks to grant some 20,000 ageing Filipinos who fought under the American flag during WWII with at least $7,329 worth of benefits, which regular US veterans are currently receiving. These benefits include veterans health care, service-connected disability compensation, non-service connected disability compensation, dependent indemnity compensations, death pension and full burial benefits. High price tag Thus, passing S. 57 means that the U.S. government will need an additional $518 million in the first year of its implementation. This covers $510 million in medical and memorial benefits and $8.8 million in administrative costs. Since all Filipino veterans will be eligible for health care benefits once S. 57 is enacted, Aument said the VA’s operation in Manila will incur 100 percent increase in its operating costs. Its current budget is $6.3 million. “It will double the workload and increase disability pension claims. We would have to be also prepared to adjust staffing," Aument said. He told the Senate committee that paying even a portion of those benefits would cost at least $4 billion over a decade. In addition, he said, veterans who live in the Philippines and receive full benefits would have a much higher standard of living compared with their colleagues who have chosen to migrate to the the US and their American counterparts. "VA benefits paid to beneficiaries living in the United States, such as U.S. veterans, do not enable those beneficiaries to live higher than the general U.S. population," he cited. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office has said providing full benefits for Filipino veterans would cost about $1 billion over 10 years. Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho said he commiserates with the plight of the Filipino veterans. “(Their) service is undeniable. It is historical fact." However, given the high price tag approving S. 57 will entail, Sen. Craig noted that there are far more important bills that the Senate should give priorities to. “Our country has no higher priority than to ensure that those returning from war with traumatic brain injuries, severe burns, and amputations have the best benefits are care available. These bills also have tremendous costs," said Craig. "The same benefit paid to veterans in the Philippines would provide income that is almost four times the average household income in that country," he noted. Shared responsibility Craig also pointed out that the Philippine government has the shared responsibility to care for the Filipino veterans. Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy C. Gaa testified that Filipino veterans are currently receiving only $100 per month. While they have “access" to Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City, Philippines, they still have to pay for their own hospitalization and medicine. In May 1946, US Congress enacted the second Rescission Act which effectively denied Filipino veterans access to health care benefits and death compensation. But Sidath Viranga Panangala, a Congressional Research Service analyst, explained to the committee that the first Rescission Act passed in February 1946 also authorized the appropriation of $200 million for the Philippine Army. “The passage of the Rescission Acts may have been influenced by other bills under consideration by Congress at that time," Panangala said. Consequently, Congress passed the Rehabilitation Act giving the Philippines $620 million in war damage claims and repair of public property. “Therefore, it seems clear that Congress considered Rescission Acts in the context of providing for the comprehensive economic development… of the Philippines," a priority over compensating Filipino war veterans, according to Panangala. For his part, Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (D-Hawai’i), who introduced S. 57, said it is unfair to make a compare the sacrifices made by U.S. and the Philippines soldiers who fought side by side during WWII. “I urge the committee not to make the distinction. After all, the injury was as painful. They stood in equal jeopardy… equal risk and therefore equal benefits," said Inouye, who himself, is a WWII veteran. “As an American, I believe the treatment of Filipino World War II veterans is bleak and shameful," said Inouye. “Heroes should never be forgotten or ignored. We should work to repay those men for their sacrifices." Echoing Inouye, his long-time buddy, Sen. Daniel K. Akaka (D-Hawai’i), chairman of the veterans committee, enacting S. 57 “will constitute a final gesture in granting full veteran status to the brave Filipinos who served under US command." According to Sen. Akaka, the Filipinos war veterans deserve the benefits they were promised when they fought alongside U.S. soldiers. Denial "means they are not officially acknowledged by the United States government as true veterans," he said. Restoring dignity For the four 80-something Filipino veterans who testified at the hearing, receiving full veterans benefits means restoring their dignity. “The war left a deep and bitter wound that up to this day has not healed. If I express my frustration… it merely echoes the betrayal of a soldier who has served well but has suffered for more than 60 years," said 83-year old Benito Valdez, who took a nine-hour flight from Seattle to testify before the committee. “Many of the original 200,000 conscripted comrades of mine have passed away angry, disappointed, defeated… One final appeal we make in our twilight years is to give us what have rightfully earned," a teary-eyed Valdez said. "We served with honor and loyalty. Today — 63 years later — that loyalty and sense of duty has not faded away. Many of us aging Filipino war veterans believe that it is our American allies who have forgotten us," he told the committee. Art Caleda of Waipahu, Hawai'i, a former Filipino intelligence officer, said Congress in 1946 "unceremoniously stripped our well-earned honor and highly deserved benefits." "Justice delayed is justice denied," said Caleda, 83, who was wounded in 1944 while helping rescue a downed U.S. pilot. Caleda is president of the WWII Fil-Am Veterans and Ladies Auxiliary-Hawai'i chapter. Other veterans who testified were Manuel B. Braga, commander of the Filipino World war II Veterans of San Diego County; and Patrick G. Ganio Sr., national president of the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans, Inc. Historical background About 200,000 Filipinos were drafted into the U.S. Army in 1941. Many fought at Corregidor and Bataan and later became part of guerrilla units organized by the U.S. military in the islands' mountainous jungles. They tied down Japanese forces, preventing them from being deployed elsewhere. In 1946, Congress stripped thousands of the Filipino fighters of their eligibility for full veterans' benefits to save money. Since 1992, the Filipino veterans have sought full benefits such as pensions for low-income veterans over 65 — almost $11,000 a year for single veterans — disability compensation, full health care coverage and survivors' compensation. Most of the estimated 20,000 Filipino veterans still living are in their 80s and 90s.– GMANews.TV