Arroyo urges US to honor pledge to vets

WASHINGTON — President Arroyo has asked President George W. Bush to support a bill in the US Congress which seeks to provide a $100 monthly pension for Filipino World War II veterans in the Philippines.

In a letter dated Jan. 22, Mrs. Arroyo thanked Bush for his role in providing health care to some 8,000 Filipino veterans in the United States, and asked him to also help the veterans in the Philippines.

Mrs. Arroyo reiterated her "unwavering support to our mutual goal of eradicating international terrorism."

Mrs. Arroyo’s letter was written two days after Bush in his State of the Union address paid tribute to the Philippines and 33 other allies for their help in Iraq.

A copy of Mrs. Arroyo’s letter was made available to The STAR by the Washington-based American Coalition for Filipino Veterans on Saturday.

In his speech Bush said, "We must never ignore the vital contributions of our international partners, or dismiss their sacrifices."

Possibly taking her cue from Bush’s speech, Mrs. Arroyo in her letter said US pensions for Filipino veterans in the Philippines would be a tangible demonstration "that America honors its commitments to those that sacrifice with you."

She congratulated Bush for his successful State of the Union address, and said the pensions for the veterans "who fought under American command and sacrificed much in the defense of liberty and freedom" would make a significant difference in their lives.

Bush last month signed into law two bills seeking $16.3 million annually for the health care of 8,000 US-based Filipino veterans and $2.9 million for survivor spousal benefits for 400 widows and full compensation for 120 New Philippine Scouts.

However, some 21,000 other veterans living in the Philippines were left out in the cold.

Seeking to redress this, Mrs. Arroyo asked Bush to support Hawaii Sen. Daniel Inouye’s Bill S68, better known as the Filipino Veterans Benefits Improvement Act of 2003, which seeks $42 million for Filipino veterans in the United States and those living in the Philippines.

"We have won half of Senator Inouye’s bill benefiting the Filipino veterans residing in the US," read Mrs. Arroyo’s letter.

"Now we are asking for the remaining benefits that S68 would provide, which will translate to a $100 monthly pension for individual veterans residing in the Philippines. This would cost $22 million in the first year and reduce(d) subsequently."

Meanwhile the National Federation of Filipino-American Associations is pressing Congress to pass HR677, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2003.

Authored by California Rep. Randy Cunningham, the bill seeks to provide a monthly pension of $800 a month for Filipino veterans in the Philippines, to conform with what US veterans generally get, instead of $100 a month under the Inouye bill.

The Cunningham bill is estimated to cost $238 million a year.