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Some vets to return
to the Philippines,
where U.S. benefits
will stretch further
A new law lets vets take 75%
By Treena Shapiro
of supplementary security
income with them
Star-BulletinLeon Tabaniag, a guerrilla fighter for the Philippines Commonwealth Army under U.S. command during World War II, is going home.
U.S. citizenship and Supplemental Security Income lured Tabaniag to Hawaii in 1993.
Together, Tabaniag and his wife receive some $500 in SSI and about $180 in food stamps.
"Our SSI is too meager for us to struggle or to strive in Hawaii," Tabaniag said.
But a law passed in November allows Filipino veterans who fought under U.S. command to take 75 percent of their SSI benefits back to the Philippines or any other country.
So Tabaniag is going as soon as the law goes into effect, perhaps by September, he says.
The 25 percent reduction is a concern, Tabaniag said, but living in the Philippines is preferable.He and his wife may be able to make ends meet there, he said.
"So many veterans are planning to go home because of their age and they want to rest," said Tabaniag, 76.
Joe Gonzales, 75, incoming president of the World War II Filipino-American Veterans, Hawaii chapter, said he expects about 300 of his 1,250 members to return to the Philippines because of this law.
Gonzales will stay in Hawaii to continue his fight for U.S. veterans rights, which includes a pension, medical coverage and burial benefits. Veterans who qualify for a pension would receive about $750 a month.
Only about 50 Filipino veterans in Hawaii receive a U.S. benefits package, 50 percent of what American veterans are given. To be eligible for benefits, Filipino veterans must have a service-related disability.
The remainder, some 3,000 in Hawaii, aren't considered American veterans under the Recissions Act of 1946, which declared their service "non-active." When the U.S. Army took command of the Philippine army, the country was on a timetable set for independence. Some members of Congress argued that Filipinos were fighting to liberate their country as much as they were fighting for the United States. Consequently, when the Philippines gained independence in 1946, Congress decided their government should share the cost of awarding veterans packages.
The Philippine government does offer a pension for its soldiers. Veterans here say they receive 3,500 pesos a month in the Philippines, or about $86. Many of the veterans who moved to Hawaii use their pensions to support families in the Philippines and survive off SSI and food stamps here.
But congressional support for the SSI law gives Gonzales hope that other legislation will pass, particularly the Filipino Equity Bill, which would give the vets the same status as their American counterparts.
All four members of Hawaii's congressional delegation have testified in support of this bill.
"This is a step in the right direction," said Mike Slackman, Rep. Neil Abercrombie's press secretary. Filipino soldiers fought side by side with Americans, obeyed American commanders, served under the American flag, he said. They should get the same benefits.
Several already feel like Americans. Although he was a soldier in the Philippine army, Bert Hibonda, 78, signed up to fight for the United States, even though it meant eating hundreds of coconuts during his three years as a guerrilla fighter in the jungle. "My heart is really American," he said.
Asked if he would return to the Philippines, Hibonda laughed. "I have my wife here. Why should I go back there? I am no longer Filipino. I am American."
But Hibonda is aware of his status and wants veterans rights. "We are not considered veterans of America. We came here as citizens, no more."
