The Philippine News and Its Role in the Struggle for Filipino American Veterans for Recognition and Equity

Article

The Philippine News and Its Role in the Struggle for Filipino American Veterans for Recognition and Equity

The Philippine News as the “Premier Filipino Newspaper in North America” have  been faithfully consistent in advocating for the Filipino American World War II Veterans and their widows and survivors since the struggle for recognition and equity started in 1993.

Actually the struggle for equity started in 1984 when a group of veterans started to grumble and point out that the more 250,000 veterans were stripped of their rights and benefits due to the passage of the Rescission Act 0f 1946. This was taken away for public and for almost 50 years were never discussed or mentioned in public in the Philippines but found an ally in the pages of the Philippine News.

When the veterans were allowed by law in 1991 to emigrate to the United States by the virtue of an immigration law passed by President George Bush Sr. more than 30,000 Filipinos became American citizens. But this situation created more problems for the Filipino-American community.

Old veterans expecting military pensions were denied of such. Instead they were given measly SSI and lived on dole out. What is revolting they fell victims to unscluporous Filipinos who prey on their senility, old age,little education and being monolingual. They were scammed them left and right.

It was the Philippine News who came to their defense and dutifully reported on their pitiful plight. And when the veterans and their advocates finally acted and led the first political demonstration in Los Angeles in 1993 in front of the Federal building in Wilshire, the Philippines News covered it with blazing headlines.

The Alyansa ng Komunidad formed the December 7th Movement (D7M) in 1993 and it became the proginetor of the Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV). From then on until 2008, when the ARRA Law was passed the Philippine News always played the role of the bearer of the good and the bad news for the veterans and the whole Filipino American community.

From time to time, mainstream American media covers the veterans cause but not as faithfully and as accommodating and sympathetic as the Philippine News. The Philippine New patriotism really  valued the sacrifices of the men and women who fought in American uniform, under the American and Filipino flags as can be seen in all its publications through the years.

As avid readers of Philippine News we follow the Filipino American veterans struggle and the struggle of the community in its pages and voraciously devour all the articles about it.

The Philippine News published articles, researches, letters and stand of veterans, veterans organizations, alliances built for the veterans struggle and has been accomodating and unrelenting partisan for the Filipino American community interests and the veterans cause. It helped the JFAV direct its struggle

For the Philippine News, the only nationwide newspaper from 1967 in the United States continues on the tradition of an overseas Filipino newspapers as the La Solidaridad in Europe handled by Dr Jose Rizal, Marcelo H. Del Pilar and Graciano Lopes Jaena in 1888 from Madrid, Spain.

The Filipino American community numbers 5.5 million and until today it has not achieved its great potential and like China in the 20th century is still the “sleeping giant” of the Asian American community. But as always, the Filipino American veterans issue is the only issue that united everybody in the fragemented Filipino American community.

While the erstwhile community leadership has abandoned the veterans and their survivors when the lump sum was approved, the Philippine News graciously carry the cudgels for the veterans and helped JFAV reinvigorate the issue especially when insult was added to the injury by  the DVA denying 27,000 veterans.

We are happy that DFA Secretary Albert Del Rosario asked the DVA when he met with Shinseki to reconsider its denials of 27,000 veterans, While he was the Ambassador in the US from 2002-2005 until he was removed by PGMA, Del Rosario was a staunch supporter of the veterans cause. It is a big boost for our struggle.

When our former allies abandoned us  and the veterans cause and looked for other struggles and greener pastures, the Philippine News like Ruth of the bible remained faithful to the community and veterans cause.

This is the character and the stuff your newspaper is made of. A real community newspaper for Filipino Americans!

************