Citation Nr: 1319083 Decision Date: 06/12/13 Archive Date: 06/21/13 DOCKET NO. 11-04 746 ) DATE ) ) On appeal from the Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Office in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines THE ISSUE Entitlement to a one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. ATTORNEY FOR THE BOARD N. T. Werner, Counsel INTRODUCTION This matter comes to the Board of Veterans' Appeals (Board) on appeal from a December 2009 decision by a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Regional Office (RO) in Manila, the Republic of the Philippines. The Board has advanced this appeal on the docket pursuant to 38 U.S.C.A. § 7107(a)(2) (West 2002); 38 C.F.R. § 20.900(c) (2012). FINDING OF FACT The National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) has certified that the claimant had no service as a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, including the recognized guerrillas in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States. CONCLUSION OF LAW The criteria for obtaining a one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund have not been met. 38 U.S.C.A. § 501(a) (West 2002 & West Supp. 2012); American Recovery and Reinvestment Act § 1002, Pub. L. No. 111-5 (enacted February 17, 2009); 38 C.F.R. § 3.203 (2012). REASONS AND BASES FOR FINDING AND CONCLUSIONS Because the application of the law to the undisputed facts is dispositive of this appeal, no discussion of VA's duty to notify and assist is necessary because the notice and assist provisions are not applicable. See Mason v. Principi, 16 Vet. App. 129 (2002). Under American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, a new one-time benefit is provided for certain Philippine veterans to be paid from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. See American Recovery and Reinvestment Act § 1002, Pub. L. No. 111-5 (enacted February 17, 2009) (Act). Payments for eligible persons will be in the amount of $9,000.00 for non-United States citizens and $15,000.00 for United States citizens. For eligible persons who accept a payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund, such payment shall constitute a complete release of any claim against the United States by reason of such service. However, nothing in the Act prohibits a person from receiving any benefit (including health care, survivor, or burial benefits) which the person would have been eligible to receive based on laws in effect as of the day before the date of the enactment of that Act. Section 1002 addresses Payments to Eligible Persons Who Served in the United States Armed Forces in the Far East during World War II. Section 1002 (d) provides that an eligible person is any person who--(1) served--(A) before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States pursuant to the military order of the President dated July 26, 1941, including among such military forces organized guerrilla forces under commanders appointed, designated, or subsequently recognized by the Commander in Chief, Southwest Pacific Area, or other competent authority in the Army of the United States; or (B) in the Philippine Scouts under section 14 of the Armed Forces Voluntary Recruitment Act of 1945 (59 Stat. 538 ); and (2) was discharged or released from service described in paragraph (1) under conditions other than dishonorable. The appellant asserts he meets the above criteria for entitlement to a one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. In support of his claim, the claimant provided VA with a January 1945 Affidavit from Tereso Pia; a January 1946 Affidavit for Philippines Army Personnel; a July 1977 Certification from the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office; a June 1995 Certification from the Armed Forces of the Philippines; a January 2011 list of men the appellant served with; a November 2012 Joint Sworn Statement from Alejandro Gastdula and Melecio Empemano; an undated Certification of Relief from Active Duty; and copies of his Social Security card as well as his Philippines Veterans Bank Passbook. These records reflect, in substance, that the claimant served with an organized guerrilla forces in the Philippines in support of United States forces during World War II. The claimant also filed various statements in support of his claim in which he argued that he had qualifying service. The RO submitted the claimant's pertinent information to the NPRC who certified in November 2009, May 2010, November 2010, January 2013, February 2013, March 2013, and again in April 2012 that the appellant had no service as a member of the Philippine Commonwealth Army, including the recognized guerrillas, in the service of the United States Armed Forces. Moreover, the Board finds that most of the documentation provided by the claimant fails to satisfy the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.203 as acceptable proof of service, even if it was consistent as to the nature of his service, as it is not official documents of the appropriate United States service department, but rather documents from the Philippine government. Likewise, the Board does not find the writings from the claimant as well as the Affidavits and Sworn Statements from men he served with satisfy the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.203 as acceptable proof of service as they are also not official documents of the appropriate United States service department. Thus, the Board may not accept them as verification of service for the purpose of determining eligibility for VA benefits, including the one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund. Because the claimant has no qualifying service, the basic eligibility criteria for establishing entitlement to the one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund are not met, and the claim must be denied as a matter of law. See Sabonis v. Brown, 6 Vet. App. 426, 430 (1994) (where the law and not the evidence is dispositive, the Board should deny the claim on the ground of lack of legal merit). ORDER Basic eligibility for a one-time payment from the Filipino Veterans Equity Compensation Fund is denied. ____________________________________________ STEVEN D. REISS Veterans Law Judge, Board of Veterans' Appeals Department of Veterans Affairs