Presidents Obama and Aquino Meet at the White House, as Groups Push Passage of Bills in the U. S. Congress |
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Sections - Politics | |||
Sunday, 10 June 2012 15:49 | |||
By JOSEPH G. LARIOSA (© 2012 Journal Group Link International) C HICAGO (jGLi) – U.S. President Barack Obama welcomed Philippine President Benigno S. Aquino According to a “daily guidance and press schedule for Friday” released by the White House Press office, the Philippines is a long-standing friend and ally of the United States, and President Obama looks forward to discussing with President Aquino “for the close strategic, economic and people-to-people ties between our two countries, and our cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.” The press statement said, “The two leaders will also discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation. There will be a “pool spray” at the bottom of the bilateral meeting.” A pool spray is a very brief photo opportunity in the Oval Office that lasts about 30 seconds, including 12 seconds inside the Oval Office. According to the guidance, the bilateral meeting started at Meanwhile, the Philippine Embassy in STUDENTS OVERJOYED WHEN PRESIDENT AQUINO SHOOK THEIR HANDS
President Aquino was met at the airport by Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose L. Cuisia, Jr. and his wife, Victoria, as well as Ambassador Capricia Penavic Marshall, Chief of Protocol of the “We are excited and look forward to seeing the President. I want to congratulate him for the wonderful job that he is doing,” said Ador Carreon, who chairs the Philippine American Foundation for Charities, a Filipino American organization that sponsors community activities, which showcase Philippine culture. “We understand that his visit here is short, but I hope that it will be a memorable and significant one,” he added. Hoping to just catch a glimpse of the President, the well wishers were overjoyed when President Aquino walked past his designated vehicle to shake their hands, sending a pack of Secret Service agents scurrying down the tarmac. GROUPS WANT TO ADD AGENDA TO THE BILATERAL MEETING
Meanwhile, some Filipino American groups hope the 20-minute bilateral meeting of President Aquino with President Obama can cover some long-standing economic, veteran and other issues. For instance, they want an endorsement of President Obama to U.S Congress to pass the following pending bi-partisan bills: 1. S. 1244, Save Our Industries Act, introduced by Sen. Daniel K. Inouye [HI-D], which got the support of six other co-sponsors, namely, Sen. Roy blunt [MO-R], Sen. Harry Reid [NV-D], Sen. Pat Roberts [KS-R], Sen. Charles E. Schumer [NY-D] and Sen. Ron Wyden [OR-D]; Its related bill in the House, H. R. 2387, introduced by Rep. Jim McDermott [WA-7] had 20 co-sponsors, and is pending before the Subcommittee on Trade; 2. H.R. 210, The Filipino Veterans Fairness Act of 2011, introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier [CA-12], which had 93 co-sponsors. It has been referred to Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. It seeks to overturn the Recession Acts of 1946 that deprived Filipino World War II of benefits equal to those received by their 3. House Concurrent Resolution No. 18 introduced by Rep. Bob Filner [CA-51-D], urging the President to authorize the return to the people of the Philippines of two church bells that were taken by the United States Army in 1901 from the town of Balangiga on the island of Samar, Philippines, and are currently displayed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base, Wyoming. PUSH THE BILLS OR SIGN EXECUTIVE ORDERS, OBAMA URGED If President Obama cannot endorse these bills for passage in the U.S Congress, he can always sign Executive Orders that will be based on the contents of those bills. For instance, Nevada State Sen. Shirley A. Breeden, chair of the Legislative Committee on Senior Citizens, Veterans and Adults With Special Needs, urged Mr. Obama, to sign an “Executive Order to allow for other options of verification for military service for 24,000 WW II Filipino veterans who are being denied benefits by the Veterans Administration due to difficulties in verifying their service records maintained by the National Personnel Records Center.” Meanwhile, Fr. Prisco E. Entines, son of a Filipino veteran, also hopes that President Obama create of an “Ad Hoc” Special Team-Committee to revisit and conduct an unbiased analysis for permanent and final compensatory, payment and reparation to Filipino veterans. Entines said since the He added that since Filipino soldiers were later demoted as “ The Visiting Forces Agreement should be reviewed so that it would provide that if U.S. G.I’s run afoul with Philippine civil and criminal laws, they should be charged before Philippine civilian courts and jailed in Philippine prisons after findings of probable cause.# # # Editor’s Note: To contact the author, please e-mail him at: (lariosa_jos@sbcglobal.net)
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