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6 weeks left for WWII vets to apply for US benefit claim


Filipino World War II veterans have six weeks left to apply for a new benefit package being offered by the United States government under the Obama administration. On its Website, the US Embassy reiterated that the deadline of applications for the 2009 Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) will be on Feb. 16, 2010 . The FVEC is a provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, signed into law by US President Barack Obama on Feb. 17, 2009. The US Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA), which processes all applications, advised claimants who are sending their applications through mail to do so before the deadline, as the agency would honor only those received within the prescribed period. Under the ARRA, eligible Filipino WWII veterans with US citizenship will receive US $15,000 or P688,000. Non-US citizen veterans, meanwhile, will get US $9,000 or P413,000. The money will be given as a one-time lump-sum payment. The US Embassy said that the cash benefit is all-new and “will not change or affect other benefits a veteran may be currently receiving." Data from the US Embassy’s Website showed that as of Dec. 1, 2009, a total of 34,512 claims have so far been released and 14,349 have been processed. Of the processed applications, 5,202 have been approved for non-US citizens; 5,432 for veterans with US citizenship, and 3,715 disapproved, which leaves 20,163 pending claims. The USDVA has conducted outreach programs in Baguio City and Pampanga in November to orient veterans on the benefit, as well as to accept applications. The agency is scheduled to visit Cebu on January 14 and Davao del Sur on February 11. To help applicants, the USDVA has posted a downloadable Frequently Asked Questions pages in both English and Filipino. - with Nikka Corsino/LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV

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