ANGELES CITY- Is it a case of cemetery discrimination?
American military retirees here lamented yesterday the failure of the American Battle Monuments Commission (ABMC) to implement a law signed last January by US Pres. Barrack Obama directing it to take over responsibility over the 8.2-hectare Clark Veterans Cemetery (CVC) at the former US air force base at Clark Freeport.
Dr. John H. Gilbert, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 2485 and chairman of the CVC, rued that “although legislation directing the ABMC to assume responsibility for the Clark Veterans Cemetery was signed into law over six months ago, we have had no indication of their plans for the cemetery.”
The ABMC is an independent agency of the US government responsible for managing overseas cemeteries and monuments. It maintains US cemeteries and monuments in Europe, as well as the Mexico National Cemetery in Mexico and Corozal American Cemetery in Panama, both of which are similar to the CVC.
“Our attempts to coordinate a smooth transition have been rebuffed, and we have been very pointedly excluded from any discussions or deliberations regarding the future of the Cemetery. Recall that ABMC resisted taking responsibility for the Cemetery for many years, and it appears that their position is unchanged,” Gilbert told Punto.
Guy HIlbero, executive officer of the 26th US Cavalry of the Philippine Scouts Memorial Regiment at Clark, noted that the CVC “is the final resting place in the Philippines for more than 8,600 US service members.”
“The cemetery is also the burial place for Filipino Scouts who served in the US Army, and who died in conflicts other than World War II or on military bases in the Philippines,” he stressed.
Hilbero also lamented the lack of action on the law signed by Obama as “sad, very sad,” noting that “the Philippine Scouts also paid a great price during the past US wars.”
Gilbert reported that Obama’s signing into law the legislation on the CVC led to reduced donations for the maintenance of the cemetery which has been maintained by his group since the American military abandoned Clark in 1991.
“Our fundraising has been much reduced due to the publicity surrounding the illusory ABMC takeover.
Supporting the cemetery from VFW Post resources can only continue for a limited period without detriment to other programs of the Post,” he noted.
The law was pushed by US war veteran Dennis Wright, an investor at Clark Freeport who also now heads the Clark Veterans Cemetery Restoration Association (CVCRA).
Gilbert also noted that that the law was “predicated on the US and Philippines putting in place a bi-lateral agreement (between the US and Philippine governments)” but that “to date no agreement has been signed.”
