By Xinhua,
Manila : The Philippine government on Thursday announced that President Gloria Macapagal-Arryo will meet U.S. President George W. Bush in her working visit to the country next month.
In a statement dispatched to media, Press Secretary Ignacio Bunye said on the president’s June 23-29 visit, Arroyo will discuss with Bush the issues surrounding benefits given to the Filipino World War II veterans.
They will also touch on a broad range of topics including food security, environmental protection and human rights.
Last September when they last met, Arroyo and Bush had a brief lounge chat at the Sydney Opera House for the opening of the 2007 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit.
Arroyo is scheduled to personally thank the U.S. Senate for its historic vote of 96-1 in favor of the Veterans Benefits Bill, and meet with members of the House of Representatives who are particularly interested in strengthening relations between the Philippines and the United States, Bunye said.
The Veterans Benefits Enhancement Act of 2007, which includes the Filipino Veterans’ Equity Bill, was approved overwhelmingly in the U.S. Senate in late April.
Under the bill, a special monthly 300 U.S. dollars non-service disability pension will be given to surviving members of the USAFFE (United States Armed Forces in the Far East) and the Filipino scouts living in the Philippines.
Filipino veterans who live in the U.S. will get the same pension as their American counterparts, ranging from 900 to 1,400 U.S. dollars a month.
About 470,000 Filipinos joined the U.S. forces in the fight against the Japanese. Some 18,000 are still alive, though most of them are over 80 years old.
Bunye said Arroyo will also meet Filipino World War II veterans living in the U.S. and leaders and members of the Filipino American community, business people, investors, and environmental groups.