30.7.11

Reply to a Journalist on the "Missouri List"

July 28, 2011

Dear Rich,

Q:. How did they ( The Filipino World War II Veterans)  get excluded? Was the list put together sloppily? Or were some vets reluctant to put their name on the list for some reason? Or they got left off just because of the chaos of the moment?

Answer :  --  Seventy years ago, on July 26, 1941, US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt formed the United States Armed Forces in the Far East or the USAFFE.

Roosevelt issued this Military Order, calling into service and placing under the command of “the armed forces of the United States for the period of the existing emergency… all organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines.”

By this order, the 120,000 armed forces of the Commonweath of the Philippines including its unarmed reserves were merged and placed under the command of the United States who has less than 40,000 troops in the Philippines. Thus the Philippines became the largest US garrison outside of the mainland.

So there are two records. One is with the US army, all US personel in the Philippines and that includes the old Philippine Scouts of Filipinos serving under the US Army. Their names are in the Missouri list.

The second list is with the Philippine Government. It is the Army of the Commonwealth of the Philippines that includes the Phil. Army. Navy,Constabulary and Air Force. That exist from 1935-1946. This record is with the Philippine government which the Archives also list but refuses to use.

The USAFFE existed for only 11 months. For the first six months were focused on the training and preparations and the next five months for intense fighting.

When the war broke out in December 7, 1941. The USAFFE was placed into alert and war footing. The USAFFE divisions resisted the Japanese invasion until they were forced to retreat to Bataan in January 1942.

The Battle for Bataan lasted from the last week of January to April 1942. When Bataan fell to the Japanese, it was just a matter of time that the fort of Corregidor will fall on  May 6, 1942. With the fall of Corregidor, USAFFE as a unit ceased to exists.

But the Filipinos and some American officers and men refused to surrender and keep the fight for resistance for the next three years. They became the core of the liberating forces that helped the US Army to liberate the Philippines three years later in 1944. In its place the new army of the commonwealth was formed. It existed from 1945 to 1946. USAFFE  just became a part of history.

Until 1947, the US listed all guerilla units, personel ( they are called recognized guerillas) who served under the USAFFE leaders or independent Filipino leaders. It was led by the US Army. This list is in the archives but was burned together with 17 million records from 1926 to 1962. But the Philippine government listed people who served in the guerilla forces  until 1948.

This is the crux of the problem. The DVA refuses to use these list or the reconstructed list because they say there are too many fake guerillas during the war. Actually more than 425,000 were listed but the US recognized only 250,000 including those in the Commonwealth army.

According to General Delfin Lorenzana of the Philippine Embassy, those 425,00 records are in Missouri but the US DVA refused to use it. ( Lorenzana was referring to the US Army records that they gathered after the war until 1947 when they left the Philippines.)

So Philippine Scouts ( old and new- News scouts enlisted after the war and served under the US Army on garrison duties in occupied areas ) are safe. They have records. But most Filipino who served as guerillas have the problem because even if they are listed, the Missouri list wont provide and give its list.

So we can say, the chaos of war and expediency of the DVA  is the culprit.

That is a yes but then no—because we know for sure that there is the list but the DVA won't honor the Philippine list in the PVAO and The AFP GHQ. They just use the US Army list from 1935-45 or the list they reconstructed in 1947 before they left the Philippines.

I hope this helps,and answer some of your questions.

For justice, equity and racial equality,

Al P. Garcia
Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV)

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On the Question of the Spratlys

July 29, 2011

Dear Editor,

Lately there has been some “patriotic rallies’ by some Filipino American political groups closely identified with the election of the President Aquino III in the United States in front of the Chinese consulates in the United States and even in the Philippines.

They timed it with the DFA secretary Albert Del Roseario’s visit to the People’s Republic of China on the diplomatic row over the controversial Spratly islands. It only amounts to political propaganda and posturings.

After the visit, President Aquino III on his  second annual State of the Nation Address to the Philippine Congress last July 25 referred to the islands ; “ We will defend what is ours to defend.” It was timed with the new navy acquisition of a  1968 Hamilton class frigate, that will patrol the area. And as a propaganda to raise the ante- the Philippines named the contested area as “The West Philippine Seas.”

Spratlys Question

All nations who are all interested parties to the Spratlys based their claims on history. China which is the oldest says Nansha, as it calls it- says its in South China seas.

The Philippines says the Kalayaan Group and the Mischief Reef belongs to it having the islands annexed in 1971 through a presidential decree issued by Marcos at the same time they put up a military outpost in the area.

But for the Alliance, the Philippines has the strongest legal claim for the two areas being situated within 200 nautical miles under the United Nation Convention on the Laws of the Seas (UNCLOS). But legal niceties are for the long term and will last for decades or even centuries.

It maybe too be naïve to believe that the Philippines will win ownership of the islands by simply invoking the UNCLOS. All national interests are won by depending it by force and the sacrifices of the parties concern.

History of the Conflict

In the first place, it was a Filipino merchant mariner named Admiral Tomas Cloma who planted the Philippine flag in the 45 island/reef chains and from then on the Philippine government to the chiding of the United States who garrisoned the area.

We must accept the reality that the Philippines cannot afford the mighty China in a shooting war. The Philippine Navy has only seven old World War II vintage ships and has no air force to fight any invading nations in that area.

Vietnam tried to bully its way after the border war with China erupted in 1979 in the island chains. But again it was clobbered by China in the sea dispute and a naval war so Vietnam has to lick it wounds after being defeated by China in the naval battles over Changsa. In the 1980’s.

Vietnam tried a different tact by using the United States as a cover against China. They gave the US 7th fleet visiting and docking rights at its former Russian Naval base in Cam Rahn Bay in the 1900’s just to threaten China. But China’s answer was to build a “blue sea” fleet that can defend its sea lanes threaten by the US 7th Fleet.

But for the Philippines, its only hold in the Pag-asa Islands are slwly being eroded until was prodded by the US. Maybe during the early 50’s and 60’s, the Philippines has one of the strongest navy and air force. But today we have sunk as Asia’s old man who cannot even defend its immigrants against our neighbors like Indonesia and Malaysia who deports our people at their own whims and will.

Learn from the lessons of history

The Alliance-Philippines believe that it will good for the country not to engage the services or the United States or take its assurance that it will defend its own interests by abiding to the 1951 Mutual Defense Treaty (MDT), the basis of the Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA).

We must also fell prey to the jingoism of old anti communist and  anti China people in the United States who held anti-Chinese rallies in major cities, They are just provoking more tensions between our people and people of China.

These “ summer patriots and sunshine soldiers” will be the first to run if there will be tensions between China and the Philippines because they are safe in the United States. And as it looks, they cannot even muster enough people to sustain rallies in these places.

We must remember our history. The United States occupied the Philippines just to abandon it to the Japanese in World War II. They let the Japanese occupy the Philippines for almost three years from 1941-1945 at a gargantuan cost to our lives and properties.

People should remember during the Philippine-Malaysian crisis in 1968, the United States sided with the British who controls Malaysia and let British jets to refuel in Clark Air Base while on their way to beef up Malaysian forces in North Borneo to defend Malaysia. This caused wild protests in Manila in 1968-1969 and raise anti –American protests.

We might also remember during the height of the MNLF insurgency, Malaysian North Borneo helped the MNLF and gave its forces sanctuary. While the US even refused to provide the Philippines  military aid and Marcos has to buy armalite rifles from Singapore. Marcos has to threaten to close the US bases for him to be offered US military aid against the MNLF in 1973-1975.

Now they are talk of leasing military equipments such as ships and planes to the Philippines at the tune of $ 450 million for AFP modernization. But the so called AFP modernization has been going on for time immemorial and yet the AFP is not modern or advance in technology even in the terms of arms and equipments.

How can we expect to defend and even safeguard our territory much more of our sovereignty and pride?

“Shall we weep like a woman when we cannot defend what is ours like men? “

Truly yours,


Arturo P. Garcia

Alliance-Philippines