PVAO to see if dependents of vets can get US benefits

MANILA, Philippines – The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) will be studying if United States government benefits can be extended to dependents of deceased World War II veterans. "If there are benefits for the widow and children of the recognized war veterans under the existing laws of the US, then that is what our delegation would be working on next," Defense Undersecretary Ernesto G. Carolina, PVAO administrator, said late last week. He said PVAO will look into the matter since the $198-million veterans fund under the recently enacted US economic stimulus law only covered surviving veterans and their dependents. Under the stimulus package, $15,000 would be given to war veterans living in the US, while $9,000 will be given to those in the Philippines. More than 250,000 Filipinos fought side-by-side with US troops against invading Japanese forces in 1941. After World War II, the US Congress passed the Rescission Act of 1946 that stripped Filipino veterans of their benefits. Government data showed there are now an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 surviving war veterans, of whom 13,000 are in the country while the rest are living abroad, mostly in the US. "The special provision in the stimulus law was intended in part to put closure to the claims," Foreign Affairs spokesman Assistant Secretary Eduardo Malaya said in a text message yesterday. He added that even after receiving the lump sum, US-based war veterans would continue to get supplemental security income from the US government, while those staying in the Philippines would continue to be given local pension. – BusinessWorld