JFAV UPDATES
December 9, 2011

On the 70th Year of Pearl Harbor Day, Filipino Veterans Reclaim Their Dignity As American Veterans!

Los Angeles--Remember Pearl Harbor!

On December 8th, Filipino WW II veterans and widows marched to the offices of Senators Boxer in San Diego and Los Angeles, and Feinstein in San Francisco in support of simultaneous talks in their DC offices. Lobbyists will ask both Senators to co-introduce a companion bill to HR 210 “The Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2011.”


In Los Angeles, six delegates from JFAV led by its National Coordinator Arturo Garcia and S4PACE Vice presiden Jovy Alejandrino met with Rafi Nazarians, District head of Senator Boxer's office at 312 Spring St.Los Angeles, CA 90012 at around 9AM.

In Washington DC, Atty. Arnedo Valera met with Ryan O'Reilly, military Legislative fellow of Senator Boxer at Hart Senate building while JFAV San Francisco leaders Ago Pedalizo and Violy Reyes,met with Senator Feinstein staff in her San Francisco office.

The two CA Senators historically voted for full equity back in 2007.

There are currently 80 co-sponsors of HR 210 in the lower house, of which more than one-third comes from the state of California. Four city councils i.e. Carson, Daly, Los Angeles, and San Francisco have approved unanimously resolutions in support of HR 210.

Earlier Gov. Brown of California singed into law, AB 199 that mandates the teaching of Filipino World War II Veterans in American's effort to win the war in the Pacific into all high schools in California from grades 7 to 12.

The CA Senate is currently debating endorsement of the bill in the US Congress. The US Court of Appeals 9th District decided to hear the lawsuit filed by the veterans against the US Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA).

Both Senator Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein has supported the Filipino Veterans. They are both ranking members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.The two CA Senators historically voted for full equity back in 2007.

Remember Pearl Harbor and the Philippines

In history, December 8th. 1941 ( Dec 7, 1941, US Time) marks the heroic defense of the Philippines by American and Filipinos forces from a common enemy. To this day, this military service was never fully recognized by the same government that commissioned the soldiers to war. Out of the 66 nationalities who served the US, the Filipinos were singled not to receive full benefits.

Few Americans know that the day the Japanse planes bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941. the Japanese planes from Formosa (Taiwan) bombed the Philippines . They bombed Subic, Clark and For William Mackinley and the citie of Manila, Baguio and Davao. They destroyed the US Air fleet and naval fleet in Subic, Sangley Point and Manila ports.

Two days later the Japanese Imperial Army landed troops in Cagayan and Ilocos Norte. Thus the battle for the defense of the Philippines, the largest US military garrison outside of the mainland began. More than 500,000 Filipinos fought under the US flag. The US only recognized 250,000 as American soldiers.

That was 70 years ago. And 66 years later, the Filipino soldiers who fought for America are still unrecognized as American veterans.

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