When, oh when, will Budget Secretary Florencio Abad and Philippine Veterans Affairs Office Administrator Ernesto Carolina ever release the unpaid Total Administrative Disability (TAD) benefits due the living World War II veterans, as provided under Republic Act No. 7696?
The Araw ng Kagitingan and Araw ng Kalayaan have come and gone. Every year they are celebrated, government officials recall and praise the sacrifices and heroism of veterans, but until now the TAD arrearages due them have not been paid.
It is an insult to our intelligence that we, veterans, are being made to believe that the failure of the government to pay what it owes us is due to lack of funds. We are aware of the millions of pesos of government funds being lost to graft and corruption and to other wasteful, useless expenditures.
It might help if administration candidates in the coming May elections could lend us a hand in our “age-old fight” for the release of our long-delayed and long-overdue TAD benefits—now!
There are still thousands of us, living and breathing World War II veterans. With our loved ones, relatives and friends, we are still a potent factor to reckon with in the coming elections.
—FERNANDO ALGAS JR.
31 Quirino Ave., General Santos City