The US demands GI bill money back from Filipino vets

by Alex Cuff PNN Newsbrief Editor

The US government accused 1,000 Filipino-American veterans of being part of a scheme to cheat the government of millions of dollars. What scheme? The vets failed to return G.I. bill education benefits that were used for college classes the government says were bogus. The government contends that professors at Laney College in Oakland, where all of the vets attended night classes, were receiving "kickbacks." Rodel Rodis, the defendants’ attorney, said these "kickbacks" were photocopying costs and some money collected from students for a Christmas party. (To prevent vets from having to pay up to $200 for textbooks, one instructor put together photocopied packets for each student and collected $50 for costs.)

The original charge, filed in 1998 accuses that the vets received passing grades unrelated to the work they did and that the class size was exaggerated for the benefit of the instructors to receive increased job security. The government also says that the classes were nothing more than "group meetings." Several professors lost their jobs at Laney including the veteran program’s co-founder Earl Robinson, and the clerk Bob Pealer who is now believed to be homeless. Rodis said that during the federal investigation, the undercover agent attended supplemental group meetings rather than actual classes.

Nearly 900 of the veterans have already settled with the government but around 90 others who refuse, believe to pay is an admission of guilt. Each vet is being asked to pay 3 times the amount of the original benefits plus $5,000 to $10,000 in additional penalties. Rene Lumaban, who served as a steward on the USS Tripoli and seven submarines and who now works as a cook at San Quentin Prison, may have to pay $50,000 in fines.

During the Vietnam War, the US Navy recruited Filipinos to serve in support roles such as cooking and cleaning. "These guys were making $90 a month for working 16 hours a day, seven days a week," said Rodis. "And after 20 to 30 years of service, this is the thanks they’re getting."