Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV)

Los Angeles, CA

Contact Person: Arturo P. Garcia

Phone- (213) 241-0995

September 18, 2009

Dear Editor,

Despite the Letter from the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to the Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) dated September 4, 2009 in reply to our questions, the national alliance based in Los Angeles continues to receive numerous complaints from Filipino World War II veterans on the slow process of their claims.

It is more than six months now when the Stimulus Bill was passed and only less than 2,000 Filipino veterans in the United States have received their checks. We want to know what keeping the claims so slow.

Therefore, we are afraid and have to tell the veterans and their dependents that the claims will take another 18 months at most to be all be paid to tall of them.

DVA Admission

The DVA through a letter to JFAV sent by David Spivey, Office of the Communications and Case Management of the Veterans benefits Administration based in Washington admitted that:

“ There are… 22,800 claims for FVEC currently pending an entitlement decision. However since each claim must be decided on its own merits and the need for supporting evidence varies, the actual resolution of each complaint is not always in order it was received.”

The DVA also assured JFAV that the Manila Regional office (RO) has hired an additional 15 employees to expedite the claims. It was a tacit admission that there was a lag in the processing due to the lack in personnel in the Manila RO at the US Embassy.

According to the latest DVA data as of Sept. 4, there are 32,000 FVEC applications. The Philippine agency , the PVAO expect at least 20,000 more veterans to apply making it more difficult for processing to proceed.

We have to accept the hard truth that in this world, where the racist all over the United States are escalating their attacks against health care, against President Obama and the immigrants, it is the harsh reality.

That even the hush money- the FVEC for a small compensation for the World War II veterans in the Philippines and the United States will be delayed and it will be a long wait for them to get their claims.

So the reality that claims delayed is justice denied is the sad truth after all.

Arturo P. Garcia

JFAV National Coordinator