Guam: Hillary Clinton's Spirit vs. Obama's Talk & Money

By Danny Aranza
Guam Daily News

The people of Guam will vote for the Democratic party's presidential nominee tomorrow, giving the island nine votes for either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention in August. Because Guam does not participate in the Electoral College in the general elections, this is the closest opportunity that the people of Guam will have in choosing our country's next president.

Obama has opened an office in Guam with paid full-time staff and is running an aggressive paid advertisement campaign based on a lot of promises.

Clinton's presence here is more grass-roots oriented, with her local campaign headed by dedicated volunteers like Rena Borja and Taling Taitano, who are energized by Clinton's long experience with Guam's issues and the concrete things she has already accomplished for the people of Guam.

This contrast between Obama's talk and Clinton's actions was aptly demonstrated just last week when the Senate passed the Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007. The Act, which would provide pensions to Filipino veterans of World War II, passed the Senate by a vote of 96 to 1.

Prior to voting on final passage of the bill, the Senate debated an amendment to remove a provision providing a limited pension for Filipino World War II veterans residing in the Philippines. This amendment was defeated by a vote of 56 to 41.

In both votes, Clinton stood up and fought on behalf of justice for the Filipino veterans, whose equal right to full U.S. veterans' benefits was unfairly withheld from them for more than 60 years. This injustice originated with the 1946 Rescission Act, which singled out Filipino veterans for the denial of full veterans benefits, while soldiers of 66 other U.S. allied countries, who were similarly inducted into the service of the United States during World War II, were granted full veterans status.

Clinton voted against the restrictive amendment and for final passage of the original bill finally giving Filipino WWII veterans full veterans' benefits.

Sen. Obama, notably, was absent from both votes.

There is a significant Filipino-American community on Guam, many of whom have family members who will benefit from the Filipino veterans equity bill. I am one of them.

My uncle was a Philippine Scout during World War II. He came to Guam under a family petition from my mother. He worked as a janitor in the Tumon hotels and was naturalized in Guam under the initial law giving Filipino veterans U.S. citizenship in 1992.

Now in his 80s, my uncle has returned to the Philippines to be with his children and grandchildren. He is one of about 18,000 surviving Filipino veterans still waiting for the veterans' benefits America promised over 60 years ago.

Many veterans have died waiting for a promise unfulfilled. Those who are still alive, like my uncle, are in their 80s and 90s. There were 20,000 surviving Filipino veterans a year ago; the latest estimate is that there are only 18,000 left. If it were up to Sen.Obama, the waiting would continue.

Correcting historic injustices from World War II has additional and unique resonance for the people of Guam. Hillary strongly supports the Guam World War II Loyalty Recognition Act, which recognizes the sacrifices of the people of Guam who demonstrated steadfast loyalty to our country despite extraordinary hardships and suffering during the Japanese occupation.

As demonstrated by the recent vote on Filipino veterans' benefits, when Hillary Clinton says she's going to do something, she does it. She deserves Guam's support on May 3.

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