Media Release

Justice for Filipino American Veterans(JFAV)

Los Angeles, CA

May 9, 2009

Contact: Arturo P. Garcia

(213)241-0906

JFAV Commemorates 67th Anniversary of the Fall of Corregidor in the United States.

Los Angeles-- The Filipino American community in the United States and the Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) militantly salutes all Filipino and Americans veterans, living or departed for the 67th Anniversary of the fall of Corregidor, May 6, 1942.

With the fall of the island bastion of Corregidor it paved the way of the total surrender of the whole Philippines to the Japanese invaders in May 9, 1942.

For their heroism in Bataan, Corregidor and other battlefields in the Philippines, the brave soldiers and guerillas held the line for more than three months and farther on for another three more years waging a fierce war of resistance against the Japanese fascist invaders.

For their bravery the American people should honor the Filipinos and reward them with the recognition and benefits that they deserve.

Because of their steadfast defense, the men in Corregidor was able to last again for a month after the fall of Bataan -- the Allied powers most specially the United States bought time and was able to prepare defenses . Later the allies were able to wage a counter attack to liberate the countries occupied by Japan and eventually defeat Japan during the war.

But today we lament the puppetry of the US-Arroyo regime to the United States by bragging about the lump sum as a victory and a recognition to the war time services of Filipino veterans, In fact it was not.

The lump sum, coming to little and too late is a mere pittance and in truth is a hush money for Filipino veterans.

The Philippine Congress and the President added insult to injury by changing the date of commemoration from the actual date of May 6 of every year-- two years ago. The measure took not only took away the glory and ignored national pride. They like to pay lip service to the veterans but consigned them to ignominy.

Many question specially those who do not have a sense of history asks why we commemorate the fall of Corregidor Day –a day of defeat and not of glory.

But even in the United States, April 9 the day of the defeat of the confederacy it surrender in Appomattox in Virginia is commemorated. April 9 in ANZAC Day in Australia and New Zealand. Not all defeat is considered total defeat but there is glorious ones- that prepared people to win in war.

As the great French general Charles De Gaulle said: “We may have lost the battle, but not the war.”

For more information please call Arturo P. Garcia at (213) 241-0995 or email at jfav_us@yahoo.com