GUINGONA STARTS SERIES OF TALKS TO HASTEN PAYMENT OF VETERANS' BENEFITS

SENATOR Teofisto "TG" Guingona III recently sat down with the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) Administrator Ret. Gen. Ernesto Carolina to discuss the pressing problems faced by Filipino World War 2 veterans and surviving spouses regarding the delay and non-payment of their benefits.

The issue came to the attention of the senator when several widows of the fallen heroes aired their sentiments regarding the setback that they experienced when claiming pensions, burial assistance for deceased veterans, and educational benefits for family members. Others further claimed that the benefits stopped arriving when their husbands died.

According to Carolina, however, several payments have actually been already issued to the veterans and their families since President Benigno Aquino III (PNoy) assumed office in 2010. He also admitted that the government still owes Filipino veterans P17 billion in unpaid benefits, which includes P2.7 billion worth of Total Administrative Disability (TAD) benefits due to veteran widows aged 80 and above.

"Nothing was appropriated [for the veterans] from 1994 to 2010. . . but P8.7 billion has already been paid to the veterans when PNoy became president," Carolina stated.

The PVAO administrator also said that there is a system for fund allocation wherein veterans' widows aged 80 years old and above are given priority in TAD, making those aged 79 and below a second priority when it comes to payment to beneficiary spouses.

Carolina also cited to the senator the challenge of cleansing the list of names of the veterans that are possibly being used by people with ill-intent to get funds.

Guingona's talk with Carolina marks a series of dialogues with stakeholders from different sectors in order to push for urgent solutions to the problems besetting our country's valiant freedom fighters.