Rescission Act of 1946

Rescission Act of 1946
Great Seal of the United States
Enacted by the 79th United States Congress
Effective February 18, 1946
Citations
Public law 79-301
Legislative history
Major amendments
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009

The Rescission Act of 1946 (38 U.S.C. § 107) is a law of the United States that retroactively annulled benefits that would have been payable to Filipino troops on account of their military service under the auspices of the United States during the time that the Philippines was a U.S. territory and Filipinos were U.S. nationals.

Opening text of the act

Service before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941, including among such military forces organized guerrilla forces under commanders appointed, designated, or subsequently recognized by the Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, or other competent authority in the Army of the United States, shall not be deemed to have been active military, naval, or air service for the purposes of any law of the United States conferring rights, privileges, or benefits upon any person by reason of the service of such person or the service of any other person in the Armed Forces

History

During World War II, over 200,000 Filipinos fought in defense of the United States against the Japanese in the Pacific theater of military operations, where more than half died. As a commonwealth of the United States before and during the war, Filipinos were legally American nationals. With American nationality, Filipinos were promised all the benefits afforded to those serving in the armed forces of the United States.[1] In 1946, Congress passed the Rescission Act, stripping Filipinos of the benefits they were promised,[2] giving the reason that the United States gave the Philippines two hundred million dollars ($200,000,000) after the war.[3] Of the 66 countries allied with the United States during the war, only Filipinos were denied military benefits.[4]

In 2009, Section 1002 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided for a one-time $15,000 lump sum for the surviving veterans[5] who are US Citizens, and a $9,000 lump sum settlement for non-citizens. Eligible people had one year from the time of passage of the bill to file claims. $198,000,000 was set aside for these payments.

References

  1. ↑ Josh Levs (February 23, 2009), U.S. to pay 'forgotten' Filipino World War II veterans, CNN, retrieved 2009-04-09
  2. ↑ The Filipino Veterans Movement, PBS, retrieved 2009-04-09
  3. ↑ "Filipino-American WWII vets seek equal benefits". Air Force Times. 21 February 2011. Retrieved 10 March 2011.
  4. ↑ Nakano, Satoshi (2004). "The Filipino World War II veterans equity movement and the Filipino American community" (PDF). Seventh Annual International Philippine Studies (Center for Pacific And American Studies). Retrieved 15 March 2011.
  5. ↑ War veterans, supporters eye next moves, ABS-CBN News Channel, February 16, 2009, retrieved 2009-04-09

See also


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