AMBASSADOR’S STATEMENT ON THE PASSAGE OF PROVISION GRANTING RECOGNITION AND LUMP SUM BENEFITS TO FILIPINO WWII VETERANS
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I wish to thank our friends and supporters in the U.S. Congress who have successfully fought to retain the provision granting recognition and lump sum benefits to Filipino WWII veterans in the Economic Stimulus Package Bill that they have passed this evening.
To the Filipino American community, take pride in this moment and accept my gratitude for your wholehearted support and cooperation in this struggle. Your advocacy and activism on this issue through the decades have been instrumental in this achievement.
Let us also express appreciation to the leadership of the Philippine Government, particularly to Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo, for providing the Embassy with all the support it needed in this struggle and for making the Filipino veterans issue an administration priority. The President herself has personally lobbied key leaders of the U.S. Congress on numerous occasions on this issue. Her commendable efforts and example have immensely contributed to the passage of legislation that finally addresses the injustice committed on our brave veterans with the passage of the 1946 Rescission Act.
It has been a long and difficult struggle through the decades, but the effort was well worth it. Our brave and selfless veterans have served as a glowing inspiration for all of us and their faith and trust in our efforts have provided all of us a strong motivation to help secure justice for their cause. It has been a privilege and an honor to serve on their behalf and to help them reclaim their honor and their dignity. END.
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