Ciriaco Cruz was naturalized as a US citizen based on his service to the US military. His records show that he was with the Batute Infantry Regiment, Bulacan Military Area, a Recognized Guerilla Unit. His military service was confirmed on February 14, 1992 by the Philippine government records, which certified that he is a “Sgt” on the approved Revised Reconstructed Guerilla Roster of the “H” Company Supplementary Roster.
Just like the case of more than 24,000 Filipino veterans, his claim for veterans equity compensation fund was denied because his qualifying service could not initially be verified by the National Personnel Record Center( NPRC) . He joined the 4500 veterans who filed appeals with the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA). Mr. Cruz had submitted an NPRC letter to the BVA confirming his membership with Philippine Commonwealth Army but still his claim for the equity compensation is being denied. He heard about the recent While House blog on recognizing extraordinary services of Filipino veterans but he is doubtful on whether this will have a positive impact on his case.
Number of Denied Claims
The Center for Minority Veterans of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs published its report on the number of claims for veterans’ equity compensation. As of July 1 2013, there were 45,991 applications that were processed: 9,270 approved for $15,000 based Veterans, 9,555 approved for $9,000, and 24,839 applications were disapproved. The Manila Regional Office has received more than 4,529 Notice of Determination on FVEC denials. There are 110 of this 4,529 that were reopened by the Regional Office and that are still pending.
With the release on July 9, 2013 of a White House blog on “Recognizing the Extraordinary Contribution of Filipino Veterans”, thousands of veterans who filed their appeals are expecting to have their cases re-opened for further examination on whether they have new basis to prove their qualifying military service.
The Interagency Working Group
In October 2012, President Obama established the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund Interagency Working Group (IWG). The tasked was to analyze the “process” faced by Filipino veterans in determining eligibility for equity compensation. Three government organizations were involved in this group: the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Defense (DOD)and the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA). All three departments clarified through a detailed report in the White House blog their role in the verification process and justified their policies behind the process.
After seven months of dedicated work to determine whether the Filipino veterans receive fair review of their applications, the IWG concluded it report with each agency agreeing on their respective courses of action.
The VA created a special team dedicated to FVEC appeals and will obtain copies of certain Philippine Army documents from the Adjutant General of the Philippines. The United States Army did not change manner of determining service of Filipino veterans as it maintains that it remains confident in the current process to determine valid service.
The Army has developed more detailed response letters for requests for service determination that explain why an application was denied.
NARA has decreased the response time for service determination requests to 10 days or less.
Whether or not these courses of action are significant to resolving issues of verifying qualifying service for Filipino veterans is doubtful.
Accepting Philippine Records
The NPRC clarified in their report that there is no single document that lists all Filipino veterans. In fact, there is no “Missouri List”. Their process of verification is by looking at claims folders, finding aids and variety of rosters complied by the U.S. Army. If Filipino veterans service is found in any of these sources, then the qualifying service will be authenticated.
While the Philippine Army record from the Adjutant General Office is to be obtained and accepted by the VA, it shall not be the sole verifying document. The VA has made it clear that verification of service still lies with the U.S. Department of Army. The courses of action taken by the interagency group were significantly geared towards transparency of the process and not substantially changing current verification process. Unless this verification process is changed by enactment of legislation, the VA will rely on the same system of verification. And if the same verification system is maintained, the denied claims of thousands of Filipino veterans will remain for lack of qualifying service.
(Tancinco may be reached at law@tancinco.com or at 721 1963 or visit her website at tancinco.weareph.com/old)
