HAWAII SENATOR CO-SPONSORS BILL TO
AID VETERANS' KIDS
HONOLULU, NOVEMBER
12, 2009
(STAR) A US senator is co-sponsoring legislation that would allow the
children of Filipino World War II veterans living in the United States to become
permanent US residents.
The Military Families Act was introduced Monday by Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii, and five fellow Democratic senators.
The Filipino soldiers were offered US citizenship in exchange for fighting alongside American troops more than 60 years ago.
But it took Washington 45 years after the war to offer the veterans a proper chance to obtain citizenship. And the Immigration Act of 1990 only allowed each veteran to bring one immediate family member to the United States.
The shortcomings of that law have left the sons and daughters of the veterans with little choice but to get in line for immigration visas along with everyone else, if they wanted to live in the US On average, it took 20 years.
There are as many as 50,000 Filipino veterans of World War II alive today. Some 10,000 are said to live in the United States, including 2,000 in Hawaii. Most are in their 70s and 80s.
In July, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo presented Inouye and fellow Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka with presidential citations to thank them for their work on behalf of Filipinos who fought with US troops in World War II.
The new bill would also allow immediate family members of active military service members to become permanent residents, even if the sponsoring soldier died in service.
“The introduction of the Military Families Act is a reminder that our immigration system is badly broken, needlessly separating families, and even harming immigrants that are fighting and dying for our country,” Mary Giovagnoli, director of the Washington-based Immigration Policy Center, said in a statement. “The Senate has delivered a well-deserved tribute to our immigrant soldiers and their families.
“Those who serve our nation – and their families who also make great sacrifices – deserve the full range of what our nation has to offer, including a path towards US citizenship,” she said. – AP
Next president should be like seaworthy ship - FVR By Pia Lee-Brago (The Philippine Star) Updated November 12, 2009 12:00 AM
[PHOTO AT LEFT - US Ambassador Kristie Kenney and former President Fidel Ramos pay tribute to American and Filipino soldiers who fought during World War II in commemoration of Veteran’s Day yesterday. Manny Marcelo]
MANILA, Philippines - Former President Fidel Ramos said yesterday that the country’s next President must be like a ship that is seaworthy, well navigated and can avoid storms.
He also emphasized that the next president and other elected officials who should be elected are the ones who did not destroy the reforms undertaken for good government.
“We are all on board the same ship called the Republic of the Philippines. It is the only ship that we have and you are on board so we must make sure that the ship is seaworthy. Don’t put any holes. Many people are putting holes right now after we repaired the leaks,” Ramos said in a chance interview at the annual Veterans Day at the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial in Taguig City.
He said electing candidates from the top all the way down to the local is not an instant decision to be made but must be well-studied and there cannot be just one color or one person.
Ramos has not announced the presidential candidate he will support in next year’s election but he said the candidate should possess 4Ms – makatao, makabayan, makakalikasan and maka-Diyos. (For people, country, nature and God).
“Make sure it is seaworthy, it is well navigated, it can avoid the storms, the rocks and other obstacles and be sure it is also competitive. It should move faster than the others in our neighborhood,” he added.
Meanwhile, Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago recommended yesterday that climate change adaptation initiatives should be included in presidential debates.
“As we face the 2010 presidential elections, we have to recognize that one of the most urgent policy needs in the Philippines is the identification of the areas most vulnerable to climate change,” she said. “Hence, I respectfully challenge our presidential candidates, to identify appropriate courses of action to address the adverse effects of climate change.”
In a privilege speech before the Senate, Santiago said the Philippines had been identified as one of the most disaster prone countries in the world, because of its geographical location.
Climate change will influence Philippine weather in terms of changes in temperature, rainfall, and tropical cyclone activity. In turn, this impacts such sectors as agriculture, forestry, and water resources.
Citing a climate change vulnerability map by the Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), Santiago said that the Philippines is a “hotspot” in Southeast Asia.
“Practically all the regions in our country are vulnerable to climate-related hazards, namely, tropical cyclones, floods, landslides, droughts, and sea level rise,” she said. “The triple typhoons and accompanying floods that wreaked havoc in the Philippines recently are clear manifestations of the high vulnerability of the country to climate change.”
Santiago said the EEPSEA vulnerability ranking of provinces for the Philippines shows that Metro Manila (badly hit by storm “Ondoy”) and Benguet (ravaged by typhoon “Pepeng”) rank first and second, respectively, in vulnerability to climate change.
“The main challenge to the next president is transparency, efficiency, and equity in the use of these funds. The threat from climate change is real. Therefore, we need a president determined to make a serious and concerted effort to prepare for climate-related disasters ahead of us,” she added. – Christina Mendez