Check out this article by Esther Misa Chavez at Inquirer.net.

An Excerpt:

…On June 3, 2008, the US Congress is scheduled to vote on HR760/S1315 that incorporates the Filipino Veterans Equity Act…

Please read this article by Rodel Rodis at Inquirer.net.

An excerpt:

…As the veterans huddled in the halls of the Capitol anxiously waiting for the vote, they heard the news from Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office that there would be no vote on the veterans’ bill on that day. The veterans wondered what could have caused the vote to be postponed…

A very interesting point to consider from Vicente Gambito at territorialfilipino.wetpaint.com:

The FilAm Veterans have been doubly subjected to injustice in their 63-year struggle for recognition. The more popular struggle has been their fight for status as veterans of a war to which they were conscripted with no other recourse but to join. Very little known is the fact that these same FilAm Veterans are also natural born American citizens; just like John McCain, who was born in the Panama Canal zone but is considered natural born because he was born in a territory ‘under the jurisdiction of the United States.

The FilAm Veterans were born at a time when the Philippine Islands was a colony of the United States. This, after the Americans bought the islands and its 20 million inhabitants for US$ 20 million from Spain. They could not have been born as Filipinos since there was no Filipino nation to which they would have owed their allegiance to. Territorial Filipinos is a name we have given to those that were born between 1896 and July 4, 1946. It is our contention that Americans have been misreading the 14th Amendment and by doing so have disenfranchised all Territorial Filipinos (including the FilAm Veterans) of their citizenship and birthrights.

Please read our arguments at http://territorialfilipino.wetpaint.com

Read this ABS-CBN article by Rodney Jaleco. An excerpt below…

WASHINGTON D.C. - The battle for equity for aging Filipino World War II veterans is fast shaping into a bellwether of Fil-American clout in America. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat, asked for 60 Republican votes to carry the veterans’ bill, GOP congressmen from California took up the cudgels for them.

Read the whole article from the Asian Journal Online about a way of getting the S 1315 moving through the House:

CHICAGO, Il – The staff of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) suggested to supporters of HR No. 760, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, that the House can invoke “suspension of rules” if they can get at least 60 Republican Congressmen to support the bill during a vote on the House floor. The move takes cue from the strategy adopted by the US Senate when Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI), who succeeded in invoking the “cloture” motion for S. 1315.

The following is an excerpt from this article by Ben R. Rosario at the Manila Bulletin Online:

A group of top lawmakers from the House of Representatives is scheduled to leave today for the United States on another mission to lobby with their American counterparts for the approval of the Filipino Veterans Equity bill which was passed by the US Senate last month.

NAFFAA calls all of us to action:

To all FilAms:

S.1315 that the US Senate passed last month is now with the US House of representatives. The House will act on S.1315 very soon. S.1315 includes benefits for our Filipino WWII veterans. All FilAms must now ask your US Representative to support the House version of S.1315 and to ensure that the benefits to Filipino WWII veterans are not amended.

Call on your US Representative, or telephone, fax, or email them, NOW!! The contact information for your Congressman is on http://www3.capwiz.com/c-span/dbq/officials/.

The message is:
I AM A VOTER FROM (your home town/city), (your home state). I ASK THAT YOU SUPPORT S.1315 AND DO NOT AMEND THE BENEFITS IN IT FOR THE FILIPINO WW2 VETERANS.

Armando ‘Doy’ Heredia
Natl Exec Dir, NaFFAA
Natl Fed of Filipino American Assns
- the Natl Orgn and Voice of FilAms for Unity & Empowerment

________________________

TO SEND EMAIL MESSAGE TO YOUR US REPRESENTATIVE:

I know many of you have never called a politician or anything like that in your life, but you must have an Internet connection to receive this message. IF YOU HAVE NOT CALLED OR FAX, YOU SHOULD EMAIL YOUR US REPRESENTATIVE NOW.

IF YOU HESITATE TO SPEAK TO THEM, EMAIL THEM. Just follow the following steps to send an email message directly to your Congressperson.

Print this page as a guide or copy it in a piece of paper. Each step below is detailed but really easy.

1. Open your web browser and go to http://www3.capwiz.com/c-span/dbq/officials/
2. Enter your zip code and click on GO. You will go to a new page with the list of your elected officials.
3. On the bottom of the leftmost column, click on the name of your US Representative.
4. You will go to a new page with your Representative’s photo and contact information. Click on SEND MESSAGE in blue under the photo.
5. You will go to a new page where you will type in and send your message.
1. In the subject box, enter: SUPPORT S1315 AND DO NOT AMEND FILIPINO VETERANS BENEFITS.
2. Click on the right arrow on the Issue Area and select VETERANS AFFAIRS in the very end of the list
3. In the message box, enter: I AM A VOTER FROM (your home town/city), (your home state). I ASK THAT YOU SUPPORT S.1315 AND DO NOT AMEND THE BENEFITS IN IT FOR FILIPINO WW2 VETERANS.
4. Type in your name in the Name box.
5. Complete Part 2 with your contact information. This is important. It will show to the US Representative that you are indeed from his voting district.
6. Make sure the REMEMBER ME box is checked.
7. Click the SEND MESSAGE in blue in the bottom. You will get an acknowledgement page that your message has been sent.
6. When you have sent your message, help each of your family and friends of voting age to do the same thing.
7. Add the web page to your list of FAVORITES so you can use it for follow-up messages later.

That is it. DO IT RIGHT NOW !

Thanks to the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans for calling my attention to this story from ABS-CBN.

An interesting excerpt from the ABS-CBN story:

In a meeting with House veterans affairs chairman Bob Filner last Tuesday, retired Maj. Gen. Delfin Lorenzana said the San Diego, California solon intended to adopt S-1315 in the Lower House.

“He said he will adopt S-1315 which has been approved in the Senate so there will be no problems,” Lorenzana intimated to Balitang America.

“If they insist on pushing the House version, that is different from the Senate version, it will have to go back to the Senate. To speed up the process, they’d prefer to adopt the Senate version so it can move swiftly to final approval,” he explained.

But adopting S-1315 faces uncertain prospects on the House floor.

JWV statement:

The Jewish War Veterans of the USA (JWV) highly commends the entire Senate for passing S. 1315, the Veterans’ Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, this past Friday, April 25. JWV is especially grateful to the Honorable Daniel Akaka, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for the recognition he has given to Filipino veterans. At JWV’s congressional reception during March of last year, Senator Akaka was awarded the prestigious JWV Medal of Merit for his outstanding support of veterans. Again, we at JWV express our gratitude and appreciation to Senator Daniel Akaka!

Over the years JWV has consistently been a strong advocate for Filipino veterans. Our National Commanders have repeatedly asked the Congress to provide the benefits, honor and respect which is so clearly due to these heroic veterans who bravely fought on our behalf during World War II.

In testimony on March 6, 2008, JWV National Commander Larry Schulman said, “These (Filipino) men were drafted into service by President Roosevelt as U.S. nationals and stood shoulder to shoulder with soldiers from the United States in some of the most grueling battles of the war, including the infamous Bataan Death March.”

The Senate has passed S. 1315! Now, the House of Representatives must deliver!

JWV fully supports the passage of the “Filipino Veterans Equity Act” (HR 760), as introduced by Chairman Bob Filner of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee. JWV commends Chairman Filner for his long standing advocacy of Filipino veterans.

JWV urgently asks the House of Representatives to pass HR 760 and the 110th Congress to then quickly enact into law meaningful benefits for the remaining Filipino veterans of World War II.

We owe this debt of gratitude to the Filipino veterans!

The Cinco de Mayo that most people will be celebrating this year is the victory by Mexican troops over the French on May 5, 1862. The Cinco de Mayo I’m remembering this year has to do with a battle that occurred on May 5th, 1942. This was the Battle of Corregidor in which many Filipinos and Americans shed blood and lost lives under U.S. command for U.S. interests.

The surviving American troops were able to come home to a hero’s welcome and decades of prosperity. The Filipino veterans were discouraged by the U.S. from becoming citizens and then shut out completely until 44 years later when Congress passed The Immigration Act of 1990. Most of their children are still waiting in a 14+ year long legal immigration line.

Most of us aren’t old enough to remember world events in the early 20th century. It must be noted that the Philippines was not an independent nation. Although on their way to independence, they had been an American colony since the Spanish American War at the turn of the century.

Even in the years leading up to, during, and after WWII, Filipinos were required by the U.S. Congress to pledge allegiance to America. They were not allowed to enter into their own treaties and they were required to allow their armed forces to be called into service under US command if so ordered.

In July of 1941, President Roosevelt ordered their Army to be placed under US control. On December 7, 1941 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, 10 hours later they bombed Clark Airfield in the Philippines, and in just two days Japanese forces had landed and began their merciless attack.

In 1942 Congress promised citizenship to Filipinos who fought for American interest in WWII and four years later they passed the Rescission Act which essentially took back that promise. It wasn’t until 1990 that the Filipino veterans won back their rights to citizenship.

These 70 and 80 year old men who are WWII veterans and now American citizens lost out on four decades of the American dream. Congress is currently debating bills that would give them some of the same benefits our U.S. veterans receive. One thing we can never give them back though is time. Not only did they loose out on four decades of the American dream, so did their children.

Many of these veterans who received their citizenship in the early 90’s filed visa petitions for their children. The legal immigration line is a 14+ year wait for people immigrating from the Philippines. It is only 5 years for most other countries regardless of military service. In the case of Filipino American veterans’ families, that is just plain wrong.

In many cases, if the veteran dies before his children’s visa petitions are processed the petitions are automatically cancelled and decades of hopes and dreams shattered.

These families are waiting patiently in a country that has a higher infant mortality rate, a lower life expectancy, and double the inflation rate of Mexico.

Corregidor is the battle Americans should be remembering this Cinco de Mayo. It should be another opportunity to think about and say a prayer for our veterans.