Citation Nr: 1319085 Decision Date: 06/12/13 Archive Date: 06/21/13 DOCKET NO. 11-21 234 ) 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 an April 2010 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). In February 2013, the Veteran failed to show for a hearing he had requested in connection with his appeal. Therefore, the Board will treat his hearing request as withdrawn. ` 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 CONCLUSION 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 March 1946 Special Orders Number 71 from Headquarters, 62nd Infantry Regiment, PA; an October 1947 record from Finance Service, Headquarters Army of the Philippines; an April 1958 record from the United States Army Record Center; a January 1991 Certification from Office of the Adjutant General, Armed Forces of the Philippines; a July 2010 identification card; an application for Educational Benefits from Philippine Veterans Affairs Office; and The above records reported, 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 June 2011 and again in March 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. As to the April 1958 record from the United States Army Record Center, the Board also finds that it does not satisfy the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.203 as acceptable proof of service because it is not from the appropriate United States service department. Likewise, the Board does not find the writings from the claimant satisfy the requirements of 38 C.F.R. § 3.203 as acceptable proof of service because they are also not official documents of the appropriate United States service department. As such, they may not be accepted by the Board 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