From the Nichi Bei Times Weekly May 1, 2008

By AKITO YOSHIKANE
Nichi Bei Times

At 87 years old, clutching his cane at his side, Lucio Dimaano remembers fighting in the Philippine Army alongside the United States against Japanese forces in World War II. Dimaano recalled joining the army in 1941, moving up the ranks from a trainee to corporal, until he was promoted to sergeant in his seven years of service.

As a soldier who fought in Bataan and survived the Death March, in which more than 10,000 of the 70,000 Filipino and American soldiers died marching to a prison camp at the hands of the Japanese military, he is one of more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers that fought in World War II when the Philippines was a commonwealth of the United States.

Today Dimaano is a part of an estimated 18,000 surviving World War II Filipino veterans - 13,000 that live in the Philippines and 5,000 in the U.S. - many of whom are also in their 80s and 90s, struggling to get by without adequate veteran's benefits the U.S. government promised the soldiers nearly six decades ago. Instead he has been living mostly on Supplemental Security Income.

"I feel we are totally discriminated," said Dimaano. "All the soldiers of all nationalities who have joined the American forces are fully paid and they are enjoying their benefits, but all the Filipinos who fought the Japanese are neglected."

Leonardo V. De Torres, 82, was also a civilian guerilla soldier in World War II recognized by the U.S. His military papers showing his service in the Philippines have turned brown and are taped together.

"I'm trying to get by with what I have but it's not enough," said De Torres through a translator.

In what has been a long legislative process - 62 years after Congressional legislation stripped Filipinos of their veterans' benefits under the Rescission Act - the U.S. Senate approved legislation April 24 to provide pensions to Filipino veterans and restored their status as American veterans. But despite the significant milestone for Filipino veterans, opponents of the bill say the measure is too generous, while advocates on behalf of the veterans say the compensation for veterans living abroad is still not enough.

Senate Bill 1315, sponsored by Senator Daniel Akaka (D-HI), was approved 96-1.

The bill grants a $221 million pension fund to Filipino veterans, roughly a $300 monthly pension to veterans in the Philippines. The measure is part of a larger bill that would expand health insurance, education and housing programs for veterans.

"The Filipino veterans of World War II fought bravely under U.S. military command, helping us win the war, only to lose their veteran status by an Act of Congress," said Akaka, the chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

During World War II, Filipino veterans joined military units at a time when the United States law mandated control over national defense and foreign affairs of the Philippines. In 1941, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt ordered Philippine soldiers and guerillas into service alongside the United States and they were promised pensions, benefits and citizenship.

But in 1946 Congress passed the Rescission Act, denying recognition of Filipino veterans as American veterans. The legislation made them ineligible for the pensions and benefits that their American counterparts had.

There has been some legislative success over the years. Congress passed a bill enabling thousands of veterans to immigrate to the U.S. to become citizens. Burial rights in national cemeteries soon followed.

In 2003, President George W. Bush signed a bill making Filipino American veterans eligible for the same federal health care as U.S. veterans.

Last week's provision comes after years of congressional lobbying by advocates and Filipino veterans who have been trying to restore their veteran status for decades. Senate Bill 1315 ostensibly restores the status of Filipino veterans as American veterans, particularly in regards to qualifying for veterans' pensions, but critics say the legislation has not yet reached full equity for veterans in the Philippines.

When asked what Dimaano thought of the recent bill he said he felt "half lonely, half happy."

"The Filipinos in the Philippines do not receive the same benefits as us," he said.

Veterans residing in the Philippines will receive a fraction of the pension of what Dimaano and De Torres would receive in the U.S. as a result of the differences in the cost-of-living. According to advocates like Luisa Antonio, executive director of San Francisco Veterans Equity Center, while the Senate bill enhances veterans' benefits, the financial disparity for Filipino veterans' pensions abroad doesn't grant them the full equity they deserve.

"As much as I am happy with the provision of the bill, what worries me is that the veterans in the Philippines are given one-third," she said.

But critics like Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), whose amendment to restrict the $221 million pension was defeated 41-56 last week, says Filipino veterans who have no service related injuries already receive benefits from the Philippine government.

"The creation of a new foreign pension benefit is unacceptable when the needs of our disabled veterans are so great," said Burr in a press release.

Burr, who is also the ranking Republican on the Veterans Affairs Committee, argued for shifting resources to ongoing wars in the Middle East.

"I respect the Filipinos who served during World War II, but this special pension is the wrong priority at the wrong time. We must focus on the needs of American veterans, including those who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan," Burr added.

Antonio, however, said it's unfair and unlawful to adjust the pension funds of Filipino veterans based on their geographical location and said the Burr measure was "a cheap shot to pit one veteran against another."

"They should be able to receive the benefits that any U.S. veteran receives regardless of residency," she said. "Any U.S. veteran can go anywhere in the world without suffering the adjustment of payment. Why is it that the Filipino veterans are treated that way? They're American veterans."

"Separate but equal is not equal," said Antonio.

As the Senate Bill 1315 moves to the House, Antonio says time is of the essence for the aging veterans.

"In my village there were about 30 veterans, but now I'm the only one left," said Dimaano, originally from Batangas City, Philippines.

De Torres, a native of Laguna City in the Philippines who now lives in the Bay Area, said he was happy the legislation was approved. But he said he feels sad for the compatriots he sees every year in his hometown who won't receive the same pension as he will.

"What we're still feeling is for Congress to recognize them and give them full benefits, not partial, regardless of their stay in the Philippines," he said.

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