Vets sell cows, take ‘5-6’ loans
ILOILO CITY—Gonzalo Batislaon could no longer recall the last time he traveled on a boat, but the dizzying trip he made on Tuesday was one he could not afford to miss.
The 85-year-old Batislaon first took an hour-long bus ride from his hometown Manapla, Negros Occidental, to Bacolod City, and from there hobbled onto a ferry that finally brought him to this city.
“I felt seasick but they said I have to go here,” Batislaon said, leaning on his cane at the lobby of the provincial capitol, where some 1,500 other World War II veterans from around Iloilo have turned up to file claims for the recently approved lump-sum package from the US government.
Around 800 more veterans have also started filing claims in Cebu City, many of them coming from neighboring provinces in Central Visayas.
Applicants from the region were being interviewed in Camp Lapu-lapu, headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Central Command (Centcom).
Some veterans have sold cows and pigs or borrowed from usurers just to have travel money going to Centcom, the Philippine Daily Inquirer learned.
Joan Palanog, daughter of 89-year-old Alfonso Palanog of Basay, Negros Oriental, said she had to borrow P3,000 just to bring her father to Cebu.
The lender wanted payment within a month at 20-percent interest, she said.
The older Palanog assured his daughter, however, that she and her eight siblings would each get a carabao (water buffalo) for their farms once he got his benefits from the US government.
Sleeping at the lobby
Batislaon and his son Robert arrived before noon in Iloilo City on Feb. 24, and found the capitol already packed with hundreds of veterans and their families from around the Western Visayas region.
At least five veterans arrived as early as Monday and spent the night at the lobby in order to be first in line for the interviews the next day.
The Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) in Iloilo had registered 1,461 applicants as of 3:35 p.m. on Tuesday.
Batislaon had the tough luck of being applicant No. 1,262 and was told he had to wait until Thursday, Feb. 26, for his turn.
Heavy with medals
“It’s difficult for him to go back here again. We might sleep in a lodging house but I’m not sure if our money would be enough,” Batislaon’s son Robert said.
Other veterans converging at Centcom came from far-flung areas where they had heard of the good news—that each of them could receive $9,000 from Washington—only on the radio.
Barely able to walk, hard of hearing and eyesight fading, the veterans formed a seemingly endless line into the capitol, cramming the hallways on the first and second floors of the six-story building.
Many came in military khakis or PVAO vests heavy with war medals and insignias. Expecting the long lines, some brought their own foldable chairs.
Dominador Palomar, 92, was brought in a wheelchair by daughter Lorellie Aguilar all the way from Passi City in Iloilo.
The companions of Fernando Quebrar, 88, of Gonzaga Street in Bacolod City, brought a portable oxygen tank for him in case of an asthma attack.
‘Much delayed’
“I’ve been hearing promises of compensation. This is much delayed but I’m still glad,” Quebrar said.
Then a sergeant in the 71st Infantry Division, he saw action in Bataan and was among the prisoners forced to endure the infamous Death March to Camp O’Donnell in Capas, Tarlac.
Most of the veterans said they would spend the lump-sum amount for their children and grandchildren. Others said they would use it to meet urgent personal needs or fulfill lifelong dreams even in their twilight years.
“Would it be enough to buy a truck for my farm?” Gregorio Buendia asked daughter Rosilla, who hired a vehicle just so the 91-year-old veteran from Barotac Nuevo town in Iloilo could make it to the capitol in comfort.
For Batislaon, all he would need for now is a fraction of the $9,000 to “buy a complete set of dentures.”
In Cebu City, 90-year-old Fortunato Pacatang from La Libertad, Negros Oriental, said medicines for his asthma would be his priority. He actually had an asthma attack upon arrival in Cebu and had to be rushed to the military hospital inside Camp Lapu-lapu.
Overnight stay
A group of graying comrades from Bohol joked about finding new partners and getting married again once they received the money.
At Centcom, where the target was to process 250 applications a day, many veterans could not be accommodated by representatives of the US Department of Veterans Affairs on the first day of the application period.
And without money for hotels or pension houses, some veterans and their companions slept on tables and benches or right on the floor, with only sheets of carton or newspapers for mats.
Among those who stayed overnight, Francisco Moran of Mantalongon, Dalaguete, Cebu, still managed to count his blessings.
“This is just fine because during the war, we slept on the forest floor,” said Moran, 84.
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War veteran dies without getting claim
He had priority number 556 for his interview. But it was a day too late for World War II veteran Benito Dumaguit.
Dumaguit, 84, died at his home in Gorordo Avenue, Cebu City yesterday from a heart ailment, on the same day he was supposed to be interviewed at Camp Lapu-Lapu so he could avail of the U.S. compensation for Filipino war veterans.
Dumaguit’s son, Gil, with his father’s documents in hand, went to Camp Lapu-Lapu yesterday to check with the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office if the family could still receive the benefit that Benito was supposed to get.
But PVAO said they have to follow the policy of the United States Veterans Administration (USVA) that a veteran who died before his scheduled interview could no longer benefit from the compensation.
Gil was disappointed. He said that his mother, who is also not in good health, could use the benefit intended for his father.
“My father served the country for 15 years. He fought during the war (and) should be given that benefit. But he died. I just want that at least his family, especially his wife who is ill right now can benefit from it as well,” said Gil.
Emmanuel Pabilona of PVAO said the Philippine government could give burial assistance and transfer the deceased veteran’s pension to his wife. But these are the only benefits they can give to the family of a veteran, he said.
Gil brought his father to the covered court on Tuesday. At that time, Benito was already wheelchair-bound but was still capable of speaking well. Gil said his father has a lingering heart ailment and he even brought an oxygen tank when they came to get their priority number: 556.
Gil said his father had an attack last Sunday but was well the following day and insisted on going to the interview.
“My father thought that we will be interviewed right away last Tuesday but even when he learned that he was to return (the next day), he was (still) enthusiastic,” said Gil.
Gil was not just disappointed that they could not get the benefit but also with the interview process.
“They should have prioritized the veterans who are ailing and those who come from other provinces. It was already a burden waiting for the benefit and still a burden in getting it,” said Gil.
Pabilona said ailing veterans could actually be assessed by the USVA even without a personal interview by its personnel.
Pabilona said a family member could just ask for a form from the PVAO office and fill it up. If the veteran could no longer sign the form, a thumb mark would do, but two to three witnesses of legal age should sign as well.
A photo of the veteran should be attached to the form together with photocopies of supporting documents. The photo of the veteran should show a newspaper published on the date that the requirements would be sent to the head office in Manila.
In the meantime, the USVA representatives decided to stop issuing priority number yesterday after they registered 1,050 WWII veterans.
Pabilona said those who received priority numbers but could not anymore be interviewed would be given application forms for them to fill up and send through mail to USVA Manila.
Pabilona said the USVA representatives worked until late in the evening to accommodate all the registered war veterans but they could only stay until Friday in Cebu.
He said they also prioritized at least 11 war veterans who went to Camp Lapu-Lapu on a wheel chair, while those admitted in the camp’s hospital were visited by the USVA interviewers. /With Correspondent Jhunnex Napallacan
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