FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Caroline Calderon (415) 255-2347
San Francisco CA– Veterans and their advocates nationwide and in the Philippines applaud the passage of the “Filipino Veterans of World War II Congressional Gold Medal Act of 2015” (H.R.2737/S.B.1555) before the House of Representatives on November 30, 2016.
Led by Maj. Gen. Antonio “Tony” Taguba, the Filipino Veterans Recognition and Education Project (FilVetRep) a non profit organization, successfully advocated for the passage of a bill that will award a Congressional Gold Medal to the Filipino Veterans of World War II in recognition of their dedicated service. Maj. Gen. Taguba established the FilVetRep with grassroots organizations nationwide to raise awareness of the contributions and sacrifices of our Filipino World War II Veterans.
The bill was initially introduced in both chambers of the U.S. Congress on June 11, 2015 where the lead sponsors were Representative Tulsi Gubbard and Senator Mazie Hirono both from the State of Hawaii. The Senate Bill 1555 was first approved on July 13, 2016 and the House bill was approved on November 30, 2016, by voice vote of majority of the members of the House of Representatives. With the approval of both houses, the bill will now go to President Obama to sign into law.