The US Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) office in Manila honored Filipino veterans with gifts, services, and entertainment in a program at Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) in Camp Aguinaldo, Quezon City.

“Manila Gives Back: A Day with Our Heroes,” honored around 150 indigent Filipino World War II veterans in a fiesta-themed program that included free services such as cataract screenings, availment of legal advice, free haircuts, musical entertainment, and presentations of donated wheelchairs and other personal items.

US Embassy Deputy Chief of Mission Brian Goldbeck led the presentation of baskets of goods to the veterans along with Nick Pamperin, acting director of USDVA-Manila. The program was funded by over 200 employees of the USDVA, who solicited donations in cash and kind for the half-day program that sought to express their respect and gratitude to living Filipino World War II heroes.

Goldbeck said the employees and staff of USDVA-Manila offer donations and assistance “in expression of our deep and sincere appreciation for the brave veterans of the Greatest Generation.”

The event was one of the highlights of USDVA-Manila’s 90th anniversary. Established in 1922, the Manila office remains as the only USDVA office outside the US and ensures the delivery of assistance and benefits to Filipino and American veterans in region.

Since the 2009 enactment of the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) Program, USDVA has provided $221 million to 18,530 Veterans and members of their families. In addition to these one-time payments, USDVA-Manila also disburses USD16 million a month in disability compensation packages to 15,000 beneficiaries.

Besides observing its 90th anniversary this year, the US Embassy in Manila has named November “Veterans Affairs Month.” Previously, the embassy hosted the observance of US Veterans Day in a ceremony at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial.

Thomas donates medical equipment to Veterans Memorial eye center United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. joined Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Administrator Lieutenant General Ernesto Carolina on November 20 in dedicating medical equipment worth $500,000 for a new eye center at the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City.

The equipment, funded by the US Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA), will allow the hospital to meet the ophthalmologic needs of the many veterans and their family members who receive care from the VMMC.

“The ability to care for the eyesight of Filipino veterans is a valuable service that the Veterans Memorial Hospital can now provide,” said Ambassador Thomas. “We are proud that our contribution will now enable the Eye Care Center to prevent and treat vision problems, and in some cases even restore sight, allowing Filipino Veterans and their families to avoid suffering in a world of darkness.”

While at the hospital, Ambassador Thomas toured areas of the facility that house equipment previously donated by the USDVA, including MRI, CT Scan, gamma camera, ultrasound, dialysis, cardiac monitors and 2D echocardiogram.

In addition to the Eye Center equipment, an X-ray machine and equipment for testing for the Dengue virus will soon become available, through future donations from the USDVA. The US Embassy anticipates turning over additional equipment to VMMC in 2013, including operating tables, a cauterizing machine, additional hospital beds, surgical sinks, stretchers, laboratory water purification systems, and a compact automatic film processor for the emergency room, among others.

Since 2003, the USDVA-Manila has provided $8 million worth of medical equipment to VMMC, the only hospital for Filipino World War II Veterans in the Philippines. The ongoing equipment grant program is an additional service that benefits Filipino veterans, alongside the payment of monthly benefits by the USDVA to veterans and their family members that amounts to roughly $17 million per month. To date, the USDVA has also paid compensation worth over $200 million to more than 18,000 Filipino war veterans.