Veteran's Rights

The Beginning of a New War         

Approximately a 250,000 Filipino men served the United States army during World War II. They fought alongside American soldiers and were promised the same benefits any other American soldier would receive. In 1945 World War II was winding down, however the war for Filipino rights was just beginning. The new struggle began on February 18, 1946 when President Truman signed the Rescission Act.

The Rescission Act stated Filipino soldiers "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 essence the Rescission Act denied Filipinos of not only the recognition they deserved, but also the promised benefits they enlisted for.

Small Victories

However Filipinos won a small victory later that year. On July 2, 1946 President Truman signed the Luce-Cellar Act. It granted naturalization rights to Filipinos and Asian Indians. It also re-established immigration from the Philippines and India, however it only allowed 100 immigrants per year from the Philippines and another 100 from India. 

Courtesy of PBS website 

Sixty-three years later, Filipino veterans won a huge battle. On February 17, 2009 the stimulus package was passed and the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation was wedged inside of the package. It awarded $15,000 to Filipino veterans who are American citizens and $9,000 to Filipino veterans who are residing in the Philippines. 

Courtesy of American Coalition for Filipino Veterans Inc.             

The Fight Continues

Unfortunately the number of Filipino veterans is quickly diminishing. Ben Reyes, a veteran in Santa Maria, is quoted as saying “there used to be a lot more veterans—they even had veterans groups—but since the government began allowing them to move back to the Philippines and still receive what SSI benefits they had, many packed up and left.” Isidro Javier is referred to as having no “desire to talk about the war at any length” and he “spoke of it as nothing more than a period in his long life.”

Despite the advances Filipino veterans have made over the years, there still remain many wrongs to right. Of the 250,000 Filipino men that served the United States, less than 10% are still alive today. Their surviving family members stand to inherit nothing from the Veterans Equity Compensation Act. To make things worse, of the few veterans who are still alive and that have applied for the compensation, only 29% have been approved. More than half a century after World War II has ended, the struggle for full equity continues on.

Learn More: WWII, Camp San Luis Obispo, WWII Experience in the Philippines

Sources:

Shelly Cone's "Veterans Fight for Full Equity” article: http://www.newtimesslo.com/cover/2295/veterans-fight-for-full-equity/

Henni Espinosa's "High denial rate by US for payments for Filipino WWII veterans hit" article: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/pinoy-migration/03/14/10/high-denial-rate-us-payments-filipino-wwii-veterans-hit 

The Filipino Veterans Movement on PBS website: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/macarthur/sfeature/bataan_filipino.html

Digital History website - Landmarks in Immigrant History: http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/immigration_chron.cfm