On Friday, October 10th, in Los Angeles and San Francisco, hundreds of Filipino American students, youth and veterans and supporters held rallies in front of the Federal Building in the both cities to demand Filipino veterans rights.

In San Francisco,more than 50 protesters rallied in front of the Federal Building at 450 Golden Gate Avenue. They demanded for the convening of a conference committee to reconcile the two separate bills S 1315 (The Veterans' Benefits Enhancement Act) and HB 68097 in Congress. During World War II, more than 250,000 Filipino soldiers served in the US military and more than one million Filipinos died. Today only 18,000 are still alive with more veterans dying everyday. When the House of Representatives passed SB 1315, Filipinos were left out from receiving benefits.

In Los Angeles, Justice for Filipino American Veterans (JFAV) and the Samahang Pilipino at UCLA led more than a hundred protesters in a rally in front of the monument to the Spanish-American War at the Westwood Federal building . JFAV Coordinator Arturo Garica said: "This monument proved that the United States occupied and colonized the Philippines from 1898 to 1946. Therefore the Filipinos were American soldiers when they fought in World War II. So nobody, and nobody can say that the Filipinos are not American soldiers. And it is unfair and unjust not to recognize them and treat them as mercenaries just what the Congress this year. "

JFAV calls on all Filipino American organization and mainstream allies to join the JFAV final push for recognition, justice and equity for 18,000 remaining veterans, their widows and relatives.

Photos From Oct 10th Protest | Photos From Sept 22nd Protest | Samahang Pilipino | JFAV LA Chapter MySpace Page