US veterans benefits office, clinic opens in Manila

MANILA, Philippines—The new benefits office in Pasay City of the US Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) will formally open on Monday, according to the US Embassy.

By Jerry E. Esplanada at the Philippine Daily Inquirer

On Jan. 31, the DVA’s out-patient clinic will also start operating there.

The clinic features “modern facilities and state-of-the-art laboratories accredited by the College of American Pathologists,” the embassy said.

The facility, located on the mission’s Seafront Compound on 1501 Roxas Boulevard near the Cuneta Astrodome, will serve eligible Filipino war veterans, said the embassy.

Both the benefits office and clinic will operate Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

They can be reached through telephone numbers (02) 550-3388 and (02) 318-8387, respectively.

The US government is spending $125 million (about P5.47 billion) on a “facilities improvement program” covering both the embassy and seafront compounds.

“Ongoing construction of new embassy buildings should be completed by 2013 and offer a better platform for client service,” said a US State Department report.

This year, Washington set aside $502 million (nearly P22 billion) for the benefits of Filipino war veterans and their American counterparts residing in the Philippines.

Consolidation of offices

Rebecca Thompson, US Embassy spokesperson, earlier told the Inquirer all of the veterans benefits that the US gives to Filipino and US veteran-residents in the Philippines will be administered out of the Seafront Compound.

At the embassy compound in Manila, “the new building being constructed will provide more spacious waiting area for visa applicants and American citizen services and a better facility for those services,” said Thompson.

The building will have 98 windows—from the previous 60—for consular services.”

All the other embassy offices currently in other locations, like the US Agency for International Development in Pasay City and those in Makati City, will soon be on the same compound.

The embassy facilities improvement program, which started in 2008, has created 2,000 new jobs. It is being undertaken by the Makati Development Corp., a local firm.

US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas Jr. has said that “ensuring that the sacrifices of brave Filipino war veterans are compensated under the terms of the US Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2010 further underscores our respect of the Filipino people and our commitment to honoring their services.”