Letter to Cong. Bob Filner, Pass the House Version of SB 1315, Now! (tags)
While we, as a Filipino-American community, always appreciate your efforts for the Filipino veterans, we do not agree with the direction you are taking. But, we will ask you to go an extra mile for our cause and let it not be you who will let it go to waste after 18 years of long, hard struggle. We want equity, we want justice, and we want it now! Pass the House version of S. 1315 now!
JFAV Questions RP Embassy Data that Only 18,155 Filipino war vets are to benefit from US (tags)
The Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) adamantly questions the number of Filipino World War II veterans are expected to benefit from the equity bills awaiting action in both houses of the United States Congress, as reported in major newspapers. Newspapers quoted the report of Philippine Ambassador to the US Willy Gaa that only 18,155 of this number remain alive, according to Gaa.?"After the US Army left in 1948 with its list of Filipino WWII veterans, the Armed Forces of the Philippines continued to list late registrants," But for JFAV, a community-veterans alliance based in California; “ the crux of the problem is that the main stream newspapers report did not report the other half of what Gaa reported that PVAO reported that figures of 33, 571 living veterans in the Philippines as of May 2007. PVAO also reported 54,000 living Filipino veterans in the Philippines in 2002.”
“Equity Bill To Be Passed by June 30, 2007”—Filner (tags)
“I wished we could to pass the Equity Bill by April 9, (on Bataan Day,) but we did not make it, I think, we can pass the Equity Bill by June 30.” This was the direct answer of Representative Bob Filner (CA- 51) of San Diego and the Chairman of the Committee on veterans Affairs to the question of JFAV Coordinator Arturo P. Garcia when will Congress pass the equity bill during the Q and A portion of the Forum on Veterans Affair Issue. The forum was held last Monday, April 2 at the American Legion Post 206 in Highland Park, Los Angeles. Congressman Filner also reported “that the appropriations are assured for the equity bill if it passes Congress before the year ends ” because the lower house have passed or earmarked more than $ 13.6 B appropriations for the veterans funding this fiscal year.