World War II veterans urged to apply for new one-time benefit

MANILA, Philippines - Filipino World War II veterans have six weeks left to apply for a new, one-time benefit created by the 2009 Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation provision of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009, the US embassy in Manila said yesterday.

All claims from Filipino WWII veterans for benefits must be received by the US embassy’s Department of Veterans Affairs office (USDVA) by Feb. 16.

These one-time payments are all new benefits made available when the ARRA was passed by the US Congress and signed by President Barack Obama in February 2009 to recognize the service of qualified veterans.

The new one-time benefits are available to eligible veterans and widows of eligible veterans who applied before their death. Any change in the law to provide these additional benefits to other survivors would require new legislation in the US Congress.

As of Dec. 29, 2009, the USDVA has approved the applications of more than 11,300 eligible Filipino WWII veterans or their widows; these qualified veterans and widows have been paid a total of nearly P6.4 billion.

Approximately half of the nearly P6.4 billion in one-time benefits paid out so far has gone to Filipino WWII veterans with American citizenship, and the other half to non-US citizen Filipino WWII veterans.

“There is no ‘master list’ of eligible veterans for this new, one-time benefit. Each claim is unique and decided on its own merits. All veterans who feel they may be eligible are encouraged to apply immediately,” the embassy said.

The application process is free and simple, and there is no need to pay anyone to assist in completing the form, which can be mailed to the US embassy.

The embassy said that mailing the application by the Feb. 16 deadline is not sufficient because it must be received by USDVA by the deadline.

Veterans can also submit their application in person to the USDVA office at the US embassy.  Veterans can call USDVA at (632) 528-2500 or toll-free outside Metro Manila at 1-800-1888-5252 for more information about this option. No appointments are necessary to file an initial application for this new benefit.

Application instructions for the one-time benefits are on the US embassy website http://manila.usembassy.gov.