For all Filipino World War II Veterans applying to receive their benefit under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, the U.S. Embassy is actively working to implement quickly this new law to ensure eligible veterans receive their rightful benefits as soon as possible. In order to best serve the Filipino veteran community and to provide those eligible veterans the opportunity to apply at the earliest opportunity, the application process no longer requires an in-person appearance.

The VA office in Manila tells me that there are no processing guidelines yet.

I spoke with them Sunday afternoon (California time). The following are some Q&A’s from our conversation.

Q. What documents do US residents need to attach to VA Form 21-4138(CF)?
A.
1. A photo copy of their Military Service Record.
2. A photo copy of their Passport and/or any other form of official photo id (driver’s license, etc.)
3. The name of their bank, and their bank account number.

Q. What is the “VA File No.” box on the VA Form 21-4138(CF) for?
A. If the veteran had already filed this claim form, he would enter the number given to the original claim. It is ok if this box is kept blank if no claim has been filed yet.

Q. Will veterans residing in the US need to go to Manila to finish processing the claim?
A. We are not sure yet. The processing guidelines are still being developed.

I am offering this information to you as second hand information. Please note that this information was given to me over the phone, and I have not seen this information listed on any official website. It was not in the packet that the VA mailed me. Please try and call the VA office and confirm it yourself before sending in an application.

Veterans applying for this benefit must provide the information requested on VA Form 21-4138(CF) Statement in Support of Claim (Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund). We will finalize and post this information to the Internet as soon as possible, The Manila VA Regional Office will process all claims for this benefit. Therefore, veterans should mail the completed information to:

(From the United States):
U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Manila Regional Office
PSC 501
FP0 AP 96515-1100

Form VA Form 21-4138(CF) can be found here on Scribd.com. Thank you Lorna Dietz for posting it.

The VA webpage on the Filipino WWII Veterans’ lump sum payment can be found here.

The VA Regional Office in Manila will process all claims for this benefit. Therefore, U.S. residents should mail the application to the Department of Veterans Affairs, Regional Office, PSC 501, FPO AP 96515-100.

Unfortunately, the application is not yet available. I will keep checking the VA’s website for updates. The form number will be VA Form 21-4138(CF).

The following photos are sent from Eric Lachica from the American Coalition for Filipino Veterans. You can check out their sites here and here.

Wreathlaying in the Embassy:

Philippine Ambassador Willy Gaa is flanked by U.S. Filipino WWII veterans (L -R): Celestino Almeda, 92, Rudy Panaglima, 78, and Amadeo Urbano, 85 during the ceremony to mark the end of the 1946 Rescission Act. Their “Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation” bill was signed into law by President Obama the day before and restored their official U.S. veterans status and provided Filipino American veterans with a lump-sum payments of $15,000 (or $9,000 for Filipino citizens)

L-R: Jun Pedery USN ret., Filipino veteran Celestino Almeda, 92, Amb. Willy Gaa, Charmaine Manansala of the Obama campaign, Emilie Dearing, Jian Zapata of the House Veterans Affairs Cmte., and Filipino veteran Rudy Panaglima celebrate the passage of their “Equity Compensation” bill in the Philippine Embassy, February 18, 2009.
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I have received a few emails asking how US residents can file for the lump sum benefit.

Ms. Kessinger from the Department of Veterans Affairs says that they are in the process of developing the proper form which will be available in the near future.

I will keep watching the VA website and post the information as soon as it becomes available.

The US Emabassy in Manila is reaching out to Filipino WWII Veterans.

Check out their webpage here.

All Filipino WWII veterans are requested to bring the following information and documentation (if applicable) when filing their claims:

1. Two forms of Identification (such as passport, driver’s license, Senior Citizen ID, Bureau of Post ID, Voter ID, etc. )
2. VA Claim number
3. Service Number
4. Philippine Veterans Affairs Office claim number
5. Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Pension bank account number
6. U.S. Passport (if a U.S. Citizen)

I have not seen any information on the Veterans’ Affairs website yet regarding how Veterans in the US should file.

The compromise was approved by the Senate.

The bill now goes to the President who is sure to sign it into law on Monday.

The Department of Veterans Affairs needs to develop forms and a process for getting our veterans their money.

There is a one year window in which to file. Hopefully, the Department of Veterans Affairs won’t take 11 months to develop their process.

12 (c) PAYMENTS.—
13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make a
14 payment from the compensation fund to an eligible
15 person who, during the one-year period beginning on
16 the date of the enactment of this Act, submits to the
17 Secretary a claim for benefits under this section.
18 The application for the claim shall contain such in
19 formation and evidence as the Secretary may re
20 quire.

On page 76 of the JOINT EXPLANATORY STATEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE OF CONFERENCE, there is the following:
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION
The conferees agree to include a provision (Sec. 1002) authorizing the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund.

This means that it made it into the final bill.

The House voted in favor of the bill today, and tomorrow the Senate is expected to vote, and most likely pass the bill. It should be on the President’s desk on Monday for his signature.

We don’t have the final version of the stimulus bill, but here is the section of the most recent Senate Version.

182
1 ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISION
2 SEC. 1002. PAYMENTS TO ELIGIBLE PERSONS WHO
3 SERVED IN THE UNITED STATES ARMED FORCES IN THE
4 FAR EAST DURING WORLD WAR II. (a) FINDINGS.—Con
5 gress makes the following findings:
6 (1) The Philippine islands became a United
7 States possession in 1898 when they were ceded
8 from Spain following the Spanish-American War.
9 (2) During World War II, Filipinos served in a
10 variety of units, some of which came under the di
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