RESOLUTION NO. _____________

BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, COUNTY OF SAN MATEO, STATE OF CALIFORNIA

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RESOLUTION IN SUPPORT OF TITLE IV: FILIPINO WORLD WAR II VETERANS MATTERS IN S. 1315 (AKAKA), VETERANS' BENEFITS ENHANCEMENT ACT

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RESOLVED, by the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Mateo, State of California, that

WHEREAS, during World War II, when the Philippines was still a possession of the United States, President Franklin D. Roosevelt issued a July 1941 executive order placing all Filipino commonwealth forces under US command and inducting more than 200,000 Filipino troops into the US Armed Forces in the Far East (USAFFE); and

WHEREAS, in March 1942, Congress passed Title 8 of the Second War Powers Act, granting citizenship to non-citizens who served in the US military, including members of the USAFFE, the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines and the Philippine Scouts; and

WHEREAS, throughout the war tens of thousands of Filipino soldiers were held and suffered as prisoners of war, while others maintained allegiance to the United States and risked their own lives and the lives their families in maintaining an underground fight against an occupying army, and greatly assisting allied forces during the 1944-1945 campaign to liberate the Philippines; and

WHEREAS, despite previous promises and with indifference to the Filipinos’ sacrifices, Congress passed the 1946 Rescissions Act, which disregarded the service of Filipino veterans and denied any claims for citizenship; and

WHEREAS, Filipino-American veterans remain without full veterans benefits, nor do they enjoy equal treatment and recognitions for their military service; and

WHEREAS, surviving Filipino veterans number some 18,000 total, with approximately 6,000 living in the United States, including a large percentage in California and in San Mateo County; and

WHEREAS, Title IV: Filipino World War II Veterans Matters in S. 1315 (Akaka), Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act is pending before Congress, seeking to correct the injustices by deeming military service performed before July 1, 1946 in the military forces of the Philippines and Philippine Scouts as active military service for (U.S.) veterans’ benefit eligibility purposes;

NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY DETERMINED AND ORDERED that the Board of Supervisors supports Title IV: Filipino World War II Veterans Matters in S. 1315 (Akaka), Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act.

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