National Federation of Filipino American Associations

IT’S A CELEBRATION!

Please scroll below for the updates as of February 13, 2009 and February 18, 2009!

For those Filipino veterans and families of Filipino veterans who have been inquiring about how to file their claims (to get their benefits), please stay tuned for more news and details. Subscribe your e-mail address for updates here at our website or email us at NaFFAANorCal@gmail.com.

February 11, 2009

The Filipino community is invited to attend a Candlelight Rally on February 18, 2009 to commemorate the anniversary of the Rescission Act. The Rally will begin at 6:00pm in front of the US Federal Building (450 Golden Gate Avenue) and ends at the Veterans War Memorial Building where we will be serving light refreshments.

As you may already know, Senator Inouye inserted the Filipino WWII Veterans Equity Bill in the Stimulus package being debated by a conference committe and should the bill pass, we will turn the candle light rally into a mock funeral procession to bury the Rescission Act and celebrate the restoration of the honor and dignity taken away from these once brave and gallant men after service have been rendered in good faith.
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Best regards,

Cdr. Rudy Asercion
Commissioner
Veterans War Memorial
401 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94102

NOTE: Rudy Asercion is NaFFAA Region 8’s San Francisco City and County Chair.

Telltale Signs/ RESCINDING THE RESCISSION ACT
Rodel Rodis, February 11, 2009

The infamous Rescission Act of 1946 may soon be rescinded if the Filipino veterans equity provision in the stimulus bill that passed the US Senate on February 10, 2009 is retained in the joint Senate-House conference bill that is approved by both Houses of Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama.

There were approximately 430,000 Filipino WW II veterans who were slated to receive US military benefits (health care, G.I. Bill of Rights, pension, vocational rehabilitation etc) when this bill removing those benefits was approved by the US Congress on February 18, 1946. Before signing the bill into law, President Harry Truman declared that “the passage and approval of this legislation does not release the US from its moral obligation to provide for the heroic Philippine veterans who sacrificed so much for the common cause during the war.”

Estimates vary on the actual amount of the benefits that would have been received by the Filipino veterans in 1946 dollars with some placing the value at approximately $3.2-B. Known officially as the “First Supplementary Surplus Appropriation Rescission Act of 1946”, the bill offered $200-M to the army of the Philippine commonwealth government (the Philippines did not become an independent republic until July 4, 1946) in exchange for a quit claim of all other compensation and benefits of Filipino World War II U.S. veterans.

On May 22, 1946, Gen. Carlos P. Romulo, the Resident High Commissioner of the Philippine Commonwealth Government in the US, spoke on the floor of the US House of Representatives and denounced the US Congress for passing the Rescission Act calling it “an act of discrimination” against Filipinos and declaring that “the $200-M which were purportedly in lieu of benefits of which Filipino veterans were thus deprived, are actually not sufficient to cover the back-pay entitled by these veterans. The Philippine government has chosen NOT to accept the appropriation!”

Coincidentally, the amount currently offered to the surviving Filipino WW II veterans - $198-M – is close to the $200-M that the Philippine government rejected in 1946. The equity provision in the stimulus bill provides benefits only to those approximately 15,000 veterans who are still above ground but who are dying exponentially at a rate of about 3 a day. The bill provides a one-time payment of $15,000 to Filipino veterans who are US citizens whether living in the US or in the Philippines and $9,000 to those veterans who are Philippine citizens.

This one-time payment version of the Filipino Veterans Equity Bill was introduced by Rep. Bob Filner (D-California) after an earlier bill providing monthly payments of $900 a month to US citizen veterans and $300 a month to Philippine citizen veterans failed to pass the House last year even though that version passed the US Senate by a vote of 97-1 (the lone vote aga inst was Louisiana Republ ican Sen. David Vitter).

It failed the House because the American Legion and other US veterans organizations vigorously campaigned against it as the money for this bill, as mandated under the House’s “Pay-Go” rule, would have come from the funds allocated to disabled American veterans who were receiving double compensation benefits under the Hartness Decision of the Court of Appeals. House Republicans led by Rep. Steven Buyer (R-Indiana) charged that the bill would take money from American veterans to give to “foreign nationals”.

After he realized that the House would never approve the version of his bill that would have provided relative “equity” to Filipino veterans because of the Hartness issue, Rep. Filner, chair of the House Veterans Committee, introduced a new bill that wou ld provide a lump sum payment that would not be drawn from an existing allocation under the “Pay-Go” rule. This new version received the support of Rep. Buyer and was approved by a lopsided vote of 372 to 32.

When this Filner bill was introduced in the Senate in the waning weeks of the last session of Congress in November of 2008, Republican Senator Richard Burr (R- North Carolina) blocked a procedural vote that would have allowed the Senate to consider the bill without further debate and amendments, effectively killing the bill.

But an appropriations bill which included a provision allocating $198-M towards payment of the lump sums to Filipino veterans sponsored by House Appropriations Committee chair Rep. Chet Edwards (D-Texas) was approved by the US Congress. All that was needed was a bill that would authorize the disbursement of the $198-M to the Filipino veterans.

After President Barack Obama was sworn into office on January 20, 2009, Filipino veterans pinned their hopes on the House stimulus bill that they hoped would include the authorizing measure for the Filipino WW II veterans. But, for whatever political reasons House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had, the authorizing bill was not included in the $819-B stimulus bill approved by the House on January 28, 2009 with a 244-188 straight party-line vote.

When the stimulus bill was introduced in the US Senate on February 2, 2009, US Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) successfully included a provision in the Senate version (Section 1002 Title X) providi ng the authorization for the disbursement of the $198-M to the Filipino WW II veterans.

When the Filipino veterans provision was debated in the US Senate on February 5, 2009, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) attacked the bill for not having anything to do with creating a stimulus for the US economy.

While Inouye agreed with Senator McCain that the Filipino veterans’ bill is not a stimulus proposal, he stressed that “the honor of the United States is what is involved.”

“It is about time we close this dark chapter. I love America. I love serving America. I am proud of this country, but this is a black chapter. It has to be cleansed, and I hope my colleagues will join me in finally recognizing that these men served us well… At this moment, while I am speaking, hundreds lie in hospitals on their deathbeds. And I am certain, while I am speaking, some are dying,” the senator said.

Please, if you have not done anything at all for our Filipino WW II veterans, this is your last chance to help them. Please take a few minutes of your time NOW to call the office of Speaker Nancy Pelosi at (202) 225-0100 or email her at www. speaker.gov/contact and urge her to recommend to the Senate-House conference committee that Sen. Inouye’s Filipino WWII veterans section (Sec. 1002, Title X ) be included in the reconciled Senate and House version for final passage this week.

Please join me on February 18, 2009 for a candlelight vigil at 6:00PM at the US Federal Building at 450 Golden Gate Avenue in San Francisco to commemorate the 63rd anniversary of the Rescission Act of 1946. We will either celebrate the passage of the stimulus bill with the veterans provision included in it or not. Celebrate or mourn but join us.

(Please send your comments to Rodel50@aol.com or to the Law Offices of Rodel Rodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127 or call (415) 334-7800. For past issues, log on to Rodel50.blogspot.com).

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

FROM: NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR FILIPINO VETERANS EQUITY (NAFVE)

February 13, 2009
www.nafve.org (Web site)

Contact:
Ben de Guzman
nafve2007@gmail.com (E-mail)

President Obama expected to sign historic bill days before 63rd anniversary of Rescission Act that first revoked U.S. veteran status for Filipino WWII veterans

Washington, DC, February 13, 2009 - The U.S. Congress today approved HR 1, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the economic stimulus bill, which includes legislation regarding Filipino World War II veterans. With this vote, the bill is expected to be signed by President Obama on February 16, Presidents’ Day. This is an historic advance for these veterans, who have been fighting for recognition of their service during WWII for over 60 years.

During WWII President Roosevelt called over 200,000 Filipino soldiers into service under the U.S. Armed Forces of the Far East. On February 18, 1946, Congress passed a Rescission Act that revoked these soldiers’ status as U.S. veterans. Of the Filipino soldiers originally called to serve, only 18,000 are alive today. This bill recognizes these veterans’ military service as U.S. veterans, and additionally provides one-time payments of $15,000 to Filipino American veterans residing in the U.S. or in the Philippines, and $9,000 to veterans who are Philippine citizens. It also contains a provision for spouses and protects eligibility for benefits currently received by veterans.

The inclusion of the authorizing language in effect allows the Department of Veterans Affairs to disburse funds that have been appropriated for this purpose through the Filipino WWII Veterans Compensation Fund. As chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Sen. Daniel Inouye included the Filipino WWII Veterans legislation in the stimulus package.

NAFVE members and Filipino American community leaders from around the country weighed in on this historic vote:

“Since NAFVE’s inception as a coalition of the major groups working on this issue, we’ve always been fighting for full equity as a matter of honor and principle, but this legislation is an important victory and helps correct the grievous mistake committed by the Congress,” says Ben de Guzman, NAFVE National Coordinator.

“This historical bill will be signed by the President two days after the 63rd anniversary of the 1946 Rescission Act that originally deprived our veterans their rightful benefits and stripped them of their status as U.S. veterans,” added Lillian Galedo, NAFVE Co-Chair and Executive Director of Filipinos for Affirmative Action.

Lou Tancinco, NAFVE Steering Committee member and Chair of the San Francisco Veterans Equity Center says, “We remain committed to supporting our Filipino veterans’ struggle for justice and full equity, and will work to make sure that these veterans will be able to get the much needed support in their twilight years.”

“We are heartened that this measure will provide these veterans with the recognition of their military service by the U.S. government,” says Rozita Lee, NAFVE Steering Committee member and Vice Chair of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations.

“We are especially grateful to Sen. Inouye for his steadfast leadership in seeing this bill through. He, along with Majority Leader Harry Reid, really helped shepherd this bill through the Senate,” says Jon Melegrito, NAFVE co-chair. “Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka has always been a champion for us on this issue and we express our profound gratitude to him as well.”

“Speaker Pelosi’s support was critical in moving this in the House,” says Faustino “Peping” Baclig, a Filipino WWII veteran with the Filipino American Service Group in Los Angeles, CA. “We thank her, as well as Rep. Mike Honda and the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, as well as Rep. Xavier Becerra for keeping this issue alive. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner’s support for this issue has also helped bring us to this day.” Baclig will be celebrating his birthday in a very special way tomorrow on Valentine’s Day thanks to the history he has helped make today.

“This moment is the result of our community’s partnership with our champions on Capitol Hill and the White House,” says NAFVE Steering Committee member Jerry Clarito with the Illinois Veterans Equity Center. “President Obama’s support for this is well documented, and we are grateful to the White House for its role in this historic achievement.”

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The National Alliance represents over 20 local, national and international organizations committed to securing full equity for Filipino World War II Veterans. All the groups have been part of a 60-year campaign to restore to Filipino WWII veterans their rightful claim to U.S. veterans’ status and recognition for their bravery in defending the United States during WWII. More information is available online at www.nafve.org or via e-mail at nafve2007@gmail.com.

Telltale Signs/ PHASES OF THE RESCISSION BATTLE
Rodel E. Rodis, February 17, 2009

The Filipino veterans’ battle to rescind the Rescission Act of 1946 was not one continuous fight over a 63 year period but rather a battle which occurred in five separate and distinct phases.

The first phase occurred in the months following the passage of the Act on February 18, 1946 during the era when the Philippines was still a commonwealth of the US government, still dependent and reliant on the US government especially in the aftermath of the Japanese occupation which had devastated the Philippine economy. Because the Philippines in that time frame was not a sovereign republic, it had no clout to effect any change in US policy.

The Philippine commonwealth government did not have the lobbying resources or the will to prevent the US Congress from passing the Rescission Act that would save the US billions of dollars in benefits that would otherwise be paid to 470,000 Filipino WW II veterans.

The second phase covered the period from the time the country was granted its independence on July 4, 1946 until 1965, when the annual quota of Filipinos was raised from 50 a year to at least 20,000 a year as a result of the liberalization of US immigration laws.

During this 19 year period, because few Filipinos could legally immigrate to the US, they were precious few Filipino veterans who could travel to the US to challenge the Rescission Act or to assert their claim to US citizenship. Only one veteran’s petition for suit during this period was heard - Matter of the Naturalization of Munoz in 1957- but though he lost his bid, Munoz succeeded in getting the US government to admit that it deliberately controlled the processing and acceptance of the veterans’ naturalization applications in the closing months of 1946.

The third phase of the rescission battle followed the immigration of hundreds of Filipino veterans after 1965. The first Filipino veteran to file a naturalization suit after 1965 was Marciano Haw Hibi, whose suit contended that the US government failed to inform him about his right to naturalization in 1946 and failed to provide a naturalization officer at the US Embassy in Manila to process the naturalization applications of Filipino veterans.

With Don Ungar as his counsel, Haw Hibi won his naturalization=2 0suit in 1967 and the decision was upheld by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. Unfortunately, the US Supreme Court in October of 1973 reversed the decision without even hearing oral argument. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall strongly dissented and criticized the majority for ignoring “the deliberate - and successful - effort on the part of agents of the Executive Branch to frustrate the congressional purpose and to deny substantive rights to Filipinos.”

The Marshall dissent spurred Filipino veterans to file naturalization lawsuits, the most notable of which was the Matter of Naturalization of 68 Veterans which went before Federal Judge Charles Renfrew in 1977. Renfrew allowed Philippine News publisher Alex Esclamado to deliver an emotional appeal to the Court about the sacrifices of the Filipino veterans and the discriminatory injustice of the Rescission Act.

Esclamado’s plea must have worked as Judge Renfrew granted the naturalization petitions of the veterans. The US government appealed the Renfrew Decision but, after Jimmy Carter was elected president in 1980, the Carter Administration withdrew the appeal in 1981 allowing the 68 Filipino veteran plaintiffs to acquire US citizenship. Hundreds of other Filipino veterans filed for naturalization claiming that the government was “estopped” from denying their applications after it withdrew its appeal of the Renfrew Decision.

Because of the “unexpected repercussions” of withdrawing its appeal, the US government sought a policy revision of the Renfrew Decision and the case of US v. Pangilinan went to the US Supreme Court in 1988, where the Court ruled that courts do not have “the power to confer citizenship in violation of the limitations imposed by Congress in the exercise of its exclusive constitutional authority.”

The 1988 US Supreme Court decision ended the third phase of the battle for rescission which was marked primarily by 21 years of legal challenges in court.

The fourth phase moved the battle from the courts to the US Congress in 1988 with bills20co-sponsored by Rep. Mervyn Dymally (D-California) and Rep. Tom Campbell (R-California) in the House, and by Sen. Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) in the Senate calling for the naturalization of Filipino WW II veterans.

Unlike the court challenges, the US government did not present any opposition to the naturalization bill when House hearings were held on September 21, 1989. But to secure majority support for his naturalization bill, Rep. Campbell assured his colleagues that giving Filipino veterans US citizenship will not “make them eligible for federal benefits which they do not already receive.” In other words, the Rescission Act would not be changed. The bill was then incorporated into the 1990 Immigration Act, which became law in November 1990. The law explicitly stated that it “shall not be construed as affecting the rights, privileges, or benefits of” Filipino veterans coming to the United States.

The passage of the Filipino veterans naturalization bill in 1990 allowed over 28,000 out of 70,000 surviving veterans to become naturalized and some 17,000 of them came to live in the US.

They formed the core of the army of Filipino WW II veterans who would walk the halls of the US Congress, veterans who would chain themselves to the gates of the White House, and who would rally tens of thousands of Filipinos throughout the US to support their battle for equity. Their champions in the US Congress included Sen. Inouye and Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) in the Senate and Rep. Bob Filner (D-California) in the House.

The 18 year final phase of the rescission battle culminated in Denver, Colorado at 1:24 PM on February 17, 2009 when Pres. Barack Obama signed the stimulus bill into law. The bill included a provision declaring that the service of the Filipino WW II veterans “is hereby recognized as active military service in the Armed Forces of the United States” and awarding a lump sum of $15,000 each to ve terans who are US citizens (wherever they may be residing) and $9,000 to those who are Philippine citizens.

The law also provides that if “an eligible person who has filed a claim for benefits under this section dies before payment is made under this section, the payment under this section shall be made instead to the surviving spouse, if any, of the eligible person.”

To our dearly beloved veterans, you have endured and waited long enough. Go and file your claims now.

(Send comments to Rodel50@aol.com or mail them to the Law Offices of Rodel Rodis at 2429 Ocean Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94127. For past columns, log on to: Rodel50.blogspot.com).