Pinoy WWII veterans claims start deciding on April

Another update for our Filipino veterans, The United State will start deciding on World War II veterans claims this coming April.

The United States government will start deciding on claims for compensation filed by Filipino World War II veterans by the end of April, according to US Ambassador Kristie Kenney.

Kenney said on Monday they would send out notices informing the claim applicants of acceptance or non-acceptance by the US government of their claims.

Around 23,000 veterans had applied for claims under the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act since last month, she disclosed.

The law provided for the official recognition of services rendered by Filipino World War II veterans to the US government and the release of a lump-sum payment to eligible veterans.

The US Department of Veterans Affairs will pay around US $198 million to about 18,000 veterans who will each receive a one-time payment of $9,000 for non-citizens and $15,000 for US citizens.

Kenney said they expected more applications to come in.

"There are still 11 more months to go. So I'm sure we'll get many, many more. I hope we will," she told reporters here during a visit at the Jaro National High School where she inspected an English proficiency project of the US Peace Corps.

She said the US government wanted all eligible veterans to apply, saying it would be a "tragedy" if they missed out on the compensation.

The ambassador also visited Pavia town where she inspected rehabilitation efforts on communities ravaged by typhoon Frank in 2008.

Pavia Mayor Arcadio Gorriceta said in a telephone interview that the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) was among the first international agencies that had brought assistance to flood victims, mainly non-food items, including blankets and tents.

Pavia was among the worst hit in the flooding, considered the worst experienced in Western Visayas in decades.

Kenney told reporters she was impressed with the speed of the recovery and rehabilitation.

She later visited a photo exhibit of World War II on Panay Island at the SM City mall in Mandurriao district, Iloilo City where she had a chance to meet and talk with war veterans.

At the mall, the ambassador visited the American business process outsourcing company Teletech, one of the largest call centers in the country, which employs 1,600 employees in its Iloilo site alone.

source: asianjournal.com