Secretary Shinseki Meets with Philippine President Arroyo

WASHINGTON – The status of benefits to Filipino Veterans of World War II was a prime topic recently when Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki met with Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo.

“VA has long-standing ties to the Philippines, with many U.S. Veterans living in the islands,” Secretary Shinseki said. “Our partnership with the Philippine government enables us to ensure these Veterans receive the benefits they have earned.”

The partnership between the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Philippine government was recently enhanced when VA implemented a law granting a cash payment to Filipino Veterans who aided American troops in World War II.  The payments came through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which authorized $198 million for one-time payments. 

Under the provision, VA is paying claims of $9,000 for non-U.S. citizens and $15,000 for Filipino Veterans who are U.S. citizens.  VA’s Manila Regional Office has received more than 25,000 claims and has paid out approximately $56 million so far.

Shinseki expressed his appreciation to Arroyo for the support her government’s Philippine Veterans Affairs Office gave to VA’s Manila office in their joint outreach to eligible Veterans in the weeks following the law’s passage earlier this year.

VA recently donated a new $800,000 CT scan machine to the Philippine government’s Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.  The donation is one in a series of medical equipment donations and facility upgrades worth $5.5 million since 2003 that the U.S. government has made to the medical center.