Asian Journal- The Filipino-American Community Newspaper

LOS ANGELES – When President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) on February 17, 2009, World War II Filipino Veterans and their families had reason to celebrate.

It was the culmination of the Filvets’ struggle in addressing a 63-year-old injustice, when the 1946 Rescission Act stripped them of any rights to military benefits. The bill made provisions for a one-time lump sum payment of $15,000 for Filipino veterans living in the US and $9,000 for veterans who live in the Philippines. The lump sum payments will be made in lieu of pensions that the US government promised them during the war but reneged on paying.

Unfortunately for some, the joy was short-lived.

Many of the Filipino soldiers, who fought in World War II, were not properly documented at the time of their service and were not part of the Missouri list. Some willingly did not put their names for fear of retaliation from the Japanese. There are also others,once documented, who already lost the paperwork necessary for the claim.

The Missouri list is a roster of legitimate WWII Filipino soldiers and recognized guerillas (who had Army serial numbers) that was supposed to have been finalized from 1945-1946. It was necessary then to separate the real WWII soldiers and guerillas from the so-called ‘Liberation-time fighters (sic)’ that filed bogus claims for back salaries and other fake claims in 1945.

As a result, 41,195 claims for payments have been received, but only 15,594 applications for benefit payments have been granted so far. Of the approved claims, 7,603 are Filipino veterans based in the Philippines while the remaining 7,991 are Filipino veterans living in the United States.

Denied applications are at 17,632. Of this number 1,761 received Notice of Denials.

This is the hurdle that many Filvets are facing right now and what Senator Leland Yee (D-San Francisco / San Mateo) and Los Angeles Congressman Xavier Becerra (D-31st District of California) are willing to address.

"It is our responsibility to end this injustice and start caring for these soldiers who fought so hard for our country’s freedom. It is heartbreaking that even the inadequate lump sum payment approved by Congress is not getting to those in need. These soldiers deserve full recognition; the least our federal government can do is [to] expedite this small token of appreciation." said Yee, whose district includes the largest Filipino community outside of the Philippines.