(On Aug. 16, 1945, Japan, down on her knees with the Aug 6 bombing of Hiroshima and Aug 9 of Nagazaki, informally surrendered to Allied Forces. The surrender ceremony was on Sept. 2, 1945 aboard USS Missouri.This article reminds us of that dark chapter in human history.)
By Tessa Jamandre
VERA Files
He was in there with a tiny bird that he had set free after the skies cleared of smoke and the air of gunshots. The flight of the bird signaled the end of the war but not his torment. Pascual for the second time became a prisoner of war, no longer by the aggressor—the Japanese—but by the liberators, the Americans.
Pascual was believed to be a “collaborator” and thus was denied his claim to the one-time lump-sum grant of the US for Filipino veterans. Pascual is among the 1,058 who received a notice of denial from the US Department of Veterans Affairs.
A total of 36,452 eligible veterans’ claims worth over P9 billion have been processed since the passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act in February 2009. It provided $67 million in additional funding for the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation (FVEC) fund that will pay eligible U.S. citizen Filipino World War ll veterans a one-time payment of $15,000 and $9,000 for Filipino veterans who are living in the Philippines on top of their other payments and benefits.
Click here (VERA Files) for the rest of the story.
Kawawa naman si Pvt Pascual.
Ang pinakamasakit,aside from depriving him of his financial compensation, he was tagged as collaborator. Ang sakit nun.
Daming pekeng bayani na nabiyayaan ng equity law na yan samantalang ang mga tunay na lumaban na nasunog/nawala ang orig na listahan ng kinasasanibang unit ay denied.
Ang sabi ng lolo ko, habang nakikipagbarilan/tagaan pa ang mga tunay na guerilla ay naglilista na ng pangalan sa rooster ang mga duwag na tago lang tago sa foxholes. WTF!
The Revised Reconstructed Guerilla Roster (RRGR) of 1948 is padded (dagdag-bawas scheme) with fake guerillas. Mere affidavits with bogus witnesses as freedom fighters were added to the new roster. Many members of the USAFFE and Commonwealth Army of the Philippines were de-listed (nabura). Dito kumita si Macoy sa fake affidavits. Many prominent politicos tagged as Jap collaborators by the American forces.
True, Ka Diego. Imagine sa Bataan mismo kung saan nagsimula ang Death March ay hindi nakasama ang majority ng beterano sa benefit na yan kasi wala raw sa listahan, samantalang yung mga bata na uhugin pa ng panahon ng gera ay tumanggap ng benefits. My father and his group, legitimate members lahat ng USAFFE bago naging mga guerillas, ay wala raw sa listahan. Yep, isang katutak na fake beteranos!
Kamukha ni Tony Sibayan si Private Pascual, hehe..sorry vice.