For Your Benefit
For and about Hawaii's militaryBy Gregg K. Kakesako
See also: In The Military
Filipino vets’
disability benefits double
to achieve equal statusQuestion: I am a Filipino veteran and read where the Veterans Affairs has improved benefits for us. Will they affect me, and where can I get more information?
Answer: Filipinos who served alongside U.S. forces in World War II and who live in the United States today as citizens or permanent resident aliens will see their disability payments double under a new policy providing equality in veterans' compensation. For these Filipinos meeting specific criteria, compensation for service-connected disabilities from the VA previously was limited to half the rate of that paid to U.S. veterans. Last December, their compensation doubled. Some of them also will receive better burial or plot allowances.
The new regulation defines U.S. residence for these veterans as requiring an actual dwelling place and not just a post-office box. The veteran must be present in the United States for at least the majority of the year and not outside the country for more than 60 consecutive days. The new benefits are available only to those who acquire U.S. citizenship or who are lawfully admitted for permanent residence. The VA will notify eligible veterans and automatically increase their payments appropriately.
Filipino veterans affected by the new policies are those who served before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines while under the military order of President Roosevelt. That includes organized guerrilla forces under commanders designated by the U.S. military.
Payment of full-rate burial benefits is limited to the survivors of similarly eligible Filipino veterans who were residing in the United States at time of death. Burial allowances are available only to veterans who at the time of death had a service-connected disability or whose limited means met income and net-worth requirements. For more information, contact the Honolulu VA at 433-1000, or check the VA Web site at www.va.gov.
If you have questions about your benefits as a veteran,
call Fred Ballard at the Veterans Affairs at 433-0049
or the Star-Bulletin at 529-4747.Gregg K. Kakesako can be reached by phone at 294-4075
or by e-mail at gkakesako@starbulletin.com.
