Filipino War Vets Seek Equity
National Coalition for Filipino American World War II Veterans Equity
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 7, 2006
Contact: Jon Melegrito, 202.361.0296
Filipino Veterans Advocacy Groups Declare Unity
for Full Veterans Equity
Washington, D.C. December 7 – Recognizing the urgent need to obtain full equity and justice for the Filipino World War II Veterans, more than 60 leaders of Filipino veterans organizations and grassroots advocacy groups declared today their unified stand to secure passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act in the 110th Congress.
The unprecedented declaration of unified action was enthusiastically affirmed at the conclusion of the Filipino Veterans Planning Conference held at the Philippine Embassy on December 6-7. Hosted by the Embassy of the Philippines and the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), the two-day meeting drew the active participation of leaders from the Veterans Federation of the Philippines, the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans (ACFV), National Network for Veterans Equity (NNVE), Student Action for Veterans Equity (SAVE) and other grassroots organizations who are advocates for full equity.
“In light of a more favorable political climate in Washington DC, making it possible to finally achieve resolution to this injustice, we have jointly resolved in a spirit of unity to work together for the passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act in the 110th Congress,” the joint statement read in part. “Correcting this 66-year injustice is long overdue. Now more than ever, Congress must act to officially recognize Filipino veterans as American veterans and restore the benefits they rightly deserve.”
Filipino American advocates got a big boost for their campaign from Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.) who assured them that as chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, he will file the equity bill as soon as the 110th Congress begins and get it passed in the House by the end of February. “We’re closer than we’ve ever been to success,” Filner told participants on the second day of the conference. “But we still have lots of work to do. We will do everything we can to have this bill passed next year because you deserve this victory.”
Conference participants noted that several Filipino World War II equity bills were filed over the years, but all fell short of passage. “Restoring the dignity and honor of our veterans has been the single most important issue of the Filipino American community for the past 15 years,” says Alma Kern, NaFFAA national chair. “Achieving united action is a historic step in our campaign to obtain full equity for our veterans.”
Franco Arcibal, ACFV vice president, noted that out of the 250,000 Filipino veterans who fought under the American flag, only approximately 22,000 remain, and they continue to die at the rate of 10 a day. He acknowledged that “sustained lobbying and organizing on the grassroots level have kept the hopes of our veterans alive.”
Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa expressed “delight that all our veterans and community advocates can now move decisively in securing what they’ve been fighting for. We owe it to our veterans and to our children to regain the honor of our heroes who sacrificed their lives for freedom.”
NNVE Coordinator Lillian Galedo hailed the “spirit of unity” and united action that conference participants forged. “Passing nothing less than the equity bill is the right thing to do, and the time to do it is now,” she said.
To implement a nationwide campaign of grassroots education and lobbying, a steering committee was formed consisting of representatives from the various advocacy and veterans groups.
In a related action, conference delegates also affirmed their support for an immigration-related bill that will benefit the sons and daughters of Filipino veterans. Introduced by Sen. Daniel Akaka and Sen. Daniel Inouye in the Senate and Rep. Ed Case in the House, the Family Reunification Act was originally passed as an amendment to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform bill approved by the senate early this year.
“Our priority, obviously, is to get the equity bill passed within the next 3-6 months of the 110th Congress,” said Ernie Ramos, chair of the NaFFAA Veterans Committee. “This is the only veterans bill that we will be actively pushing next year.” Added Perry Diaz, NaFFAA Veterans Committee co-chair, “the Family Reunification Act is an immigration-related measure and it will have to be dealt with as a separate piece of legislation, through the appropriate committees in Congress.”
Declaration of Unity to Win Full Equity and Justice
for Filipino World War II Veterans
in the 110th Congress.
Filipino soldiers fought during World War II under the American flag. By order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, they were recruited and sworn in as members of the United States Armed Forces. As soldiers of the U.S. military they were promised citizenship and considered U.S. veterans. But the 1946 Rescission Act passed by the U.S. Congress deprived Filipino veterans of their rightful U.S. military status and benefits. Singling out Filipinos as a national group for denial of their eligibility was blatantly unjust and discriminatory.
To correct this injustice, Filipino veterans and community advocates have pushed for repeal of the Rescission Act since the 103rd Congress. Through the efforts of our supporters in Congress who championed the veterans cause, several Filipino WWII equity bills were filed but fell short of passage.
Restoring the dignity and honor of our veterans has been the single most important issue of the Filipino American community for the past 15 years. Today, out of the 250,000 veterans, only approximately 22,000 remain, and they continue to die at the rate of ten a day. Sustained lobbying and organizing on the grassroots level in recent years have kept their hopes alive.
In light of a more favorable political climate in Washington DC, making it possible to finally achieve resolution to this injustice, we have jointly resolved in a spirit of unity to work together for the passage of the Filipino Veterans Equity Act in the 110th Congress. Correcting this 66-year injustice is long overdue. Now more than ever, Congress must act to officially recognize Filipino veterans as American veterans and restore the benefits they rightly deserve. We declare, therefore, our united stand that passing the Filipino Veterans Equity Act is the right thing to do, and the time to pass this bill is now.
This declaration is affirmed by the following organizations that convened on December 6 & 7, 2006, at the Philippine Embassy to forge a united strategy to secure passage of a full equity bill in the 110th Congress.
American Coalition for Filipino Veterans (ACFV)
Bataan & Corregidor Survivors Assn & their Families (BCSA&TF), Seattle
Embassy of the Philippines
Erasto Batongmalaque Foundation, Inc. (ERBF), Los Angeles
Federation of Filipino American Associations, Inc. (FFAAI)
FilAm Community of Los Angeles (FACLA)
Filipino American Democrats of South New Jersey
Filipino American Republicans of Virginia (FARV)
Fil-Am Veterans Society, Inc. of Jacksonville, Florida (FASI)
Filipino American Support Group Inc. (FASGI), Los Angeles, CA
Filipino American Veterans of Hampton Roads (FAVHR), VA
Filipino American Veterans & Families, Inc (FAFVI), San Francisco, CA
Filipino Civil Rights Advocates (FilCRA)
Filipino Intercollegiate Networking Dialogue (FIND)
Filipino War Veterans of Washington (FWVW), Seattle
Filipino World War II Veterans Federation of San Diego County
Illinois Veterans Equity Center (IVEC)
National Assn of Sons & Daughters of FilAm World War II Veterans USA
National Network for Veterans Equity (NNVE)
National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA)
Philippine Nurses Association of Pennsylvania and New Jerseye
Student Action for Veterans Equity (SAVE)
Veterans Equity Center (VEC), San Francisco
Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP)
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