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By Angelo S. Samonte, Reporter
American legislators have assured
President Gloria Arroyo that the Veterans Equity bill would be
passed by the House of Representatives before the US presidential
elections in November this year.
‘’We will fix the loopholes.
We will iron out the system and give due benefits to the Filipino
veterans,’’ said Congressman Bob Filner of California, one of
the founders of the bi-partisan caucus which always supports
Philippine interests.
Filner said funding for the $300
monthly pension of Filipino veterans living in the Philippines,
would come from the ‘’fixing of the loopholes.’’
The so-called loophole refers to
the claims of many American veterans that they must be disabled in
order to be qualified to collect money claims.
Filner said there were 218
members of the US House of Representatives support the bill.
However, for the bill to be passed, it has to get two-third votes of
the House or 290 votes.
‘’We could do that. We will
pass the bill,’’ Filner said.
An appeal to the US House
Before leaving Washington DC,
President Arroyo appealed to the members of the US House of
Representatives to pass the Veterans Equity bill as a way of
honoring the thousands of Filipino soldiers who fought side-by-side
with the American soldiers during World War II.
The President issued her strong
call when she visited Wednesday the Veterans Committee Hearing Room
at the Cannon House Office Building of the US Capitol Complex.
‘’It is time we honor the
past as we build our future,” the President told the RP-US
Friendship Caucus, a group of some 90 members of the US House of
Representatives supportive of Philippine interests, especially the
Veterans Equity bill.
The President noted that the US
Senate overwhelmingly voted for the passage of the bill and that she
expects the House of Representatives to do the same.
‘’It is time to come here and
tell you and press for the passage, for your support,’’ the
President said.
Mrs. Arroyo said that “when
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt called on the Filipinos to serve
in the US Armed Forces after [the attack on] Pearl Harbor, our
fathers of the greatest generation heeded the call.’’
‘’The President of the US was
our commander-in-chief. Filipinos fought as US soldiers side-by-
side with Americans and died under the banner of the stars and
stripes,’’ she said. ‘’They suffered from some of the most
brutal acts during the last war, including the notorious Bataan
Death March.’’
Filipino war veterans brought
freedom and human dignity back to Asia and the world, she said,
stressing that it is not too late ‘’to honor the service of all
our fathers—Americans and Filipinos.’’
Meanwhile, President Arroyo
already arrived in New York Wednesday night after a three-day
working visit in Washington DC.
The President arrived at the
Newark Liberty International Airport at exactly 10:15 p.m. She was
scheduled to visit the New York Stock Exchange Thursday and the
Bellevue Hospital for a brief tour and interaction with Filipinos
working there.
Mrs. Arroyo will also lobby for
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago’s appointment to the International
Court of Justice, and will host a reception for that purpose.
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