LOS ANGELES – Filipino World War II veterans are one step closer to being recognized for their contributions in history textbooks across California.
California bill, AB 199, the Filipinos in WWII Social Studies Curriculum Act, passed the Senate Floor on Thursday with a 37 – 2 vote and will head to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk next week.
The bill, AB 199, was re-introduced by Assemblymember Fiona Ma (D-San Francisco) earlier this year and if passed into law, would recognize the contributions of Filipino soldiers and civilians in World War II. The bill passed the Assembly in March with an overwhelming 72-0 vote.
“[This bill] encourages social science instruction for grades 7-12 to include instruction on World War II and the role of Filipinos in that war, consisting of an accurate history of the contributions of the Filipino American veterans who fought courageously in the United States Army,” said Ma, the bill’s author.
“[And] to include a component drawn from personal testimony, especially in the form of oral or video histories of Filipinos who were involved in World War II and those men and women who contributed to the war effort on the home front.”
This is the second time the bill passed the Assembly and Senate in California.
The last time then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger declined to sign the bill saying, Filipinos contribution in WWII in textbooks should be taken up by the state’s education board and not made into law, according to WWII Veteran Franco Arcebal.
“We lobbied Governor Schwarzenegger and tried to impress him but he said it should be taken up by the educational board rather than by legislation,” said Arcebal. “It’s important to include the services of the Filipinos during World War II in the history books because the American people do not understand or have any idea how the Filipino soldiers served during those days.
“When Bataan fell, the US was in its lowest [state] but with the help of the Filipinos and nurses and civilian combatants the Americans were able to recuperate and gain strength within five months,” he added.
During World War II, the Philippines was a Commonwealth of the United States.
There were more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers that aided in defending against invading Japanese forces. The Filipino soldiers in the US Armed Forces were in effect US nationals, and the US government promised them the same health and pension benefits as US soldiers, according to Ma.
However, after World War II ended, President Truman signed the Rescission Act of 1946. The Rescission Act states that the service of Filipinos “shall not be deemed to be or to have been service in the military or national forces of the United States or any component thereof or any law of the United States conferring rights, privileges or benefits.”
In 2009, President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that included a provision that called for $198 million for Filipino World War II veterans. According to the provision, Filipino World War II veterans who received their US citizenship would receive $15,000 each; non-citizens get $9,000.
There is an estimated 15,000 Filipino World War II veterans still living today.
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Weekend Aug 20-23, 2011 Sec A pg.1)
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