Letter to the Editor We Want Fairness and Justice, Not Crumbs and Discrimination and Racist laws for the US Congress July 29, 2013 Dear Editor, We wrote you this letter in the light of some new developments in the US Senate last week. Last July 24, 2013 in a final act of insult your newspaper reported the sad news that for the US Senate marked up the Heller Bill , recycled it to be called Sander’s Bill or the Improved Filipino Veterans Health benefits Bill , two days before the July 26 USAFFE Day. This so called improved bill will “reconsider” giving benefits to 4,000 Filipino veterans who filed their appeals disregarding the Shatz Bill or the Senate version of the Filipino Fairness Act of 2013. By this act they disregarded the 20,000 denied claims of Filipinos veterans and again excluded the 60,000 widows of departed Filipino Veterans. Maybe in a consummated act of compromise, Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, adopted or recycled the Heller bill and called it a “health improvements bill". But all it do was the legalized a process that will expedite the 4,000 veterans claims who appealed their claims with the DVA. What a shame, what a shame, what a shame! Thus with the Sanders Bill in the US Congress for the third time perpetrated to the remaining 41,000 Filipino veteran and 60,000 widows another racist and discriminative fiats much like the highly anticipated punitive immigration law that wish to punish the 11 million immigrants of this nation by giving them long years of wait for their legalization. As if the US Congress is saying that we cannot get any kind of justice or equity from this legislative constitution they call “ the chapel of democracy” for racist and bigots laws and lawmakers alike. Discriminated Three times For the first time on February 18, 1946, they rescinded this recognition by law calling their “military service as inactive for the purposed of benefits and rights’ in a racist act of discrimination. More than 500,000 Filipinos under the US force, as guerillas of independent units for four years ( 1942-1945) and under the Philippine Republic fought the liberation of the Philippines until the nation was finally liberated from Japan on September 6, 1945 after more than two years of a war for national liberation. And yet the United States only recognized 250,000 guerillas and Filipino forces under the US Army as World War II veterans. And yet they were all discriminated against and disenfranchised under the 67 years Rescission Act of 1946 under the 79th US Congress. Until today this law has not been repealed. This is why we lobbied the US Congress for more 20 years to repeal this law. And this has been a subject of our longest running litigation for more than 60 years. But Again on October 2008, they passed the second rescission act by deleting the provision for SB 1315 the Equity provisions for the Filipinos or the New GI Bill of Rights of 2008 and instead gave the Filipinos a lump sum. They legalized this by inserting the lump sum provision in the Stimulus Act or the ARRA Law of 2009. That is why JFAV opposed this lump sum and still lobby at the US Congress with the latest Shastz Bill in the US Senate and the Filipino Veterans Fairness Act 0f 2013 in the Lower House. So today we raise our voices not to celebrate or commemorate the USAFFE Day last July 26 but to gather our strength to fight on these evils of racism and discrimination we suffered at the hands of the legislative branch of this government that masquerades for equality. On July 26, 1941 by an Executive Order by US President Franklin Roosevelt, the Army of the Commonwealth of the Philippines was placed under the command of the United States Forces in the Far East (USAFFE), six months before WWII erupted. Is it coincidence that the US Senate passed the mark up of the Sanders Bill on july 24, two days before the 72nd Anniversary of the USAFFE Day? In the face of institutionalized racism and discrimination to our veterans and widows, let us gather our strength and we must FIGHT ON!! We made this promise to our departed and living heroes who started this struggle for equity and rights in 1993. We will fight for our community in the United States and our nation who were insulted and despised by these legislators who passed these racist laws. TO THE LAST VETERANS, TO THE LAST WIDOWS, WE WILL FIGHT! AND WE WILL WIN!!! For justice and Equity, Arturo P. Garcia National Coordinator Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) July 29, 2013 ***
Posted on: Mon, 29 Jul 2013 19:04:49 +0000
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