|
The
Philippine embassy in
Washington
will spend $500,000 in the next six months to pay for
the services of a law firm which will help lobby for the
benefits of the Filipino World War II veterans under the
proposed Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007.
Philippine Ambassador to the United States Willy Gaa
signed a contract on Wednesday (Manila time) with
Ambassador Stuart E. Eizenstat, partner and chairman of
the International Practice of Covington & Burling Llp.
The firm is one of the leading law offices in
Washington
D.C. willing to support the efforts of the
Philippines in pursuing its interests in the US.
“Ambassador Eizenstat and his team in Covington &
Burling will provide welcome support to our efforts here
in
Washington.
Our consultant and his excellent team will work broadly
on a bipartisan basis, particularly in Congress,” said
Gaa in his report to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)
He said
the work of the firm “would push for correcting grave
injustice” done against the Filipino war veterans who
fought side by side with US soldiers in World War II.
Gaa
said that the contract would be for six months and worth
$500,000. He said there would be no additional expenses
to be charged to the Philippine government, including
travel and representation.
The
Filipino Veterans Equity Act, also known as S.57, seeks
to allocate an additional $518 million in the first year
of implementation to cover the benefits in the form of
pension to surviving 13,000 Filipino war veterans.
The
amount covers $510 million in medical and memorial
benefits and $8.8 million in administrative costs.
American war veterans receive a total of $7,329 in
monthly pension while Filipino veterans currently
receive only $100 as monthly from the Philippine
government. |
