Maniolas

By Nimfa U. Rueda Philippine Daily Inquirer 4:56 pm | Sunday, February 10th, 2013 LOS ANGELES — Aging Filipino veterans seeking benefits for their World War II services have decided to take their case to the Supreme Court after a federal appeals court had ruled against them, the veterans’ lawyer said. “The fight continues,” said lawyer Arnedo Valera, who received the decision on Friday (Saturday in Manila). “Sadly, the decision highlights the continued discrimination against our beloved veterans.” The lawsuit filed by the veterans against the US Department of Veterans Affairs said the benefits granted to Filipino veterans were far below those received by US veterans, including pensions and health care. More than 250,000 Filipinos fought for the United States during World War II and were promised equal treatment with American veterans after the war. But in 1946, the US Congress enacted the Rescission Act that took away full recognition of Filipino war veterans and stripped them of their benefits. In 2009, the US Congress approved the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), a stimulus package that included one-time payments of $15,000 to Filipino veterans in the United States and $9,000 to those living in the Philippines. But the lawsuit, filed in the Ninth US Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco in October 2010, said the claims of thousands of other veterans were rejected since records from the Philippines proving their services were not accepted by US authorities. The Department of Veterans Affairs required documentation from a federal registry Read More …