Lawmakers have adopted a resolution expressing the
appreciation of the Philippine House of Representatives and the Filipino World
War II veterans to the United States Congress for considering other documentary
evidences of service in the processing of the Filipino Veterans Equity
Compensation (FVEC).
The House approved House Resolution 1992 expressing
appreciation to the US Congress for including in the Military Construction,
Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations Act a directive to the
United States Department of Veterans Affairs (USDVA) to consider all forms of
evidence of service, and not just those originally considered.
The resolution was endorsed for plenary adoption by the
House Committee on Veterans Affairs and Welfare chaired by Rep. Herminia B.
Roman (1st District, Bataan ), who is also
author of HR 1992.
The resolution cited that the US Congress passed the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 authorizing the release
of a one-time, lump sum payment to eligible World War II (WWII) Filipino
veterans.
The payments, otherwise called the Filipino Veterans Equity
Compensation (FVEC), are to be made through the USDVA.
Roman said the FVEC applications filed by most World War II
(WWII) Filipino veterans were denied for not being in the so-called Missouri
List, which was used by the USDVA in validating claims.
“In the processing of the FVEC, the USDVA validated all
applications using the Missouri List, resulting in the denial of legitimate
World War II veterans,” said Roman.
“Efforts were initiated to convince the USDVA to consider
other supporting documents to prove eligibility of Filipino World War II
veterans in the processing of the equity compensation. The US Congress included
in the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies
Appropriations Act a directive to the USDVA to consider all forms of evidence
of service, and not just those originally considered,” Roman further said.
The resolution is co-authored by Magdalo Reps. Francisco
Ashley L. Acedillo and Gary C. Alejano.
Per the data cited by Ret. MGen. Alfredo Cayton, Jr., chief
of the Veterans Affairs and Management Division (VAMD) of the Philippine
Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) during the committee hearing held last November
2015, a total of US$ 265 million was appropriated for the FVEC Fund from
February 2009 to July 2010 under the ARRA of 2009.
Cayton cited that out of the 42,755 VEC applications
processed, 18,951 applications were approved while the remaining 23,804
applications were denied.
Moreover, he said as of August 2015, the total payment to
VEC beneficiaries amounted to US$ 225.88 million. He advised veterans whose
claims were denied to make an appeal by sending a Notice of Disagreement (NOD)
to the USDVA.
The FVEC Fund according to Cayton grants a one-time lump sum
payment of US$ 15,000 for each Filipino WW II veteran who are US citizens and
US$ 9,000 each to non-US citizens.
http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?idn=1&sid=&nid=1&rid=857907
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.