WASHINGTON D.C. - Filipino veterans joined thousands in the nation’s capital to send off Senator Edward M. Kennedy to his final resting place beside his brothers at the Arlington Cemetery.

Kennedy died last week from brain cancer at age 77.
 
Despite the humidity and oppressive heat, Filipino World War II veterans Guillermo Rumingan, Potenciano Dee and Jay Cabacar donned their Sunday best, waving small American flags, and waited patiently for over three hours to give a fallen comrade one last salute.

Kennedy was well-loved by the Fil-Am community. They say he was a friend ready to help, especially when that help was needed the most; and a champion for human rights, healthcare and immigration reforms.

“On behalf of 4,000 members of our national advocacy organization, we mourn the loss of our long-time champion, the lion of the United States Senate,” said the leaders of the Virginia-based American Coaltion of Filipino Veterans (ACFV).
 
“We will miss his Irish eloquence and untiring friendship,” they added.
 
Executives of the Migrant Heritage Commission (MHC) described Kennedy as a “great ally of the immigrant community in advancing human rights, the powerless and the poor, the elderly and a genuine advocate for comprehensive immigrations reforms.”

Jon Melegrito, communications director of the National Federation of Filipino American Associations (NaFFAA), said the loss of Kennedy was a blow to ongoing and future Fil-Am initiatives on Capitol Hill.

“We lost a loud voice in the Senate,” he averred.
 
“We lost a great man,” chimed lawyer Arnedo Valera, one of the executive directors of MHC.

“We thank him for his people-centered ideas that helped advance the causes of freedom and economic well-being of every immigrant in this country,” he added.

KENNEDY’S THUMBPRINT 
 
Ben de Guzman, executive director of the National Alliance for Filipino Veterans Equity (NAFVE) and veteran lobbyist, pointed out that Kennedy “left his thumbprint on what makes America what it is today.”
 
Kennedy pushed over 300 bills in his over three-decade-long service in the Senate.
 
Most notable among them was raising the minimum wage, ensuring medical care for uninsured children and mandating handicap access to all edifices and public facilities.  
 
Eric Lachica, a veterans activist and former head of the ACFV, said Kennedy was responsible for legislation that had a direct impact on Filipinos in America, especially the 6,000 World War II veterans living here.
 
“We humbly remember Sen. Kennedy’s leadership in the passage of the 1990 Immigration and Naturalization Act, restoring to Filipino World War II veterans their right to become American citizens,” he said.
 
Lachica revealed more than 28,000 veterans and their spouses benefitted from this law.
 
“In 2003, Sen. Kennedy helped pass the Filipino Veterans Health Care Act, providing US-based Filipino veterans recognition and medical care in VA hospitals, clinics and nursing homes,” he explained.
 
“In 2007, as ranking member of the judiciary committee, Sen. Kennedy co-sponsored the Filipino Veterans Family Reunification bill of Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka that passed the full Senate.
 
“More than 20,000 adult children of Filipino American veterans would have received immediate priority visas. Unfortunately, the final version in the Comprehensive Immigration bill was defeated.
 
“On February 16, 2009 – despite his debilitating illness, Sen. Kennedy helped Sens. Daniel Inouye and Akaka pass the Filipino Veterans Compensation Law,” Lachica elucidated.
 
He disclosed that his dealings with Kennedy started over three decades ago.
 
“I first met him in the late 70s on the issue of human rights in the Philippines. He was one of the champions on the Senate, he wanted to launch an investigation on the hidden wealth of President Marcos,” Lachica told ABS-CBN’s Balitang America.
 
“He was a very close sponsor of my business partner, former Antique Gov. Evelio Javier. His (Sen. Kennedy) son and nephew went to the Philippines during the February 1986 snap elections to help monitor the situation in Antique,” he explained.
 
Despite this, Javier was gunned down a few days after the election. His death was one of the sparks that ignited in the EDSA People Power revolt that toppled the Marcos dictatorship in February 1986.
 
“The Filipino people owe Sen. Kennedy a huge debt of gratitude, from advancing human rights to restoring democracy in the Philippines,” Lachica stressed.
 
There was perhaps a sense of this debt in the Fil-Am community.

CLEAR CONSCIENCE, ONLY TRUE REWARD 
 
Jamie and Percy Javier and their two small kids were vacationing from Michigan. But they decided to postpone their sight-seeing tour of the nation’s capital to join the huge crowd on the east front of the US Congress building.
 
“It so happened it was the memorial for Ted Kennedy so medyo nakita namin so were here to pay our respects,” Jamie told Balitang America.
 
Ted Kennedy’s death also revived public interest in the Kennedy legacy.
 
The brothers – John, who was the 35th president of the United States, Robert and Edward – shared a liberal passion for social justice, civil rights, healthcare and immigration.
 
With the loss of such a forceful and effective benefactor on Capitol Hill, Melegrito said they have to redouble their efforts to push Fil-Am issues in Congress’ already crowded agenda.
 
Key concerns remain to be additional benefits for veterans, particularly passage of a family reunification bill, healthcare reform and comprehensive immigration reform.
 
“We hope that with his passing, Sen. Kennedy has inspired others to continue what he has worked so hard for so many years in the Senate,” Melegrito tells Balitang America. 
 
Senator Kennedy joined his brothers – John and Robert – at the Arlington national cemetery. Also buried there is John’s First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy and their two children who died at birth and the other, just a few days longer.
 
A simple marble tombstone, with just his name and dates of birth and death, mark where Edward Moore Kennedy is buried – much like his brother Robert’s own tombstone.
 
A little further up the hill are some familiar words that have become the hallmark of the Kennedys.
 
“With a good conscience our only sure reward, with history the final judge of our deeds, Let us go forth to lead the land we love, asking His blessing And His help, but knowing that here on earth, God’s work must truly be our own.”
 
“We are pleased that Ted will finally rest beside his two brothers in the hallowed grounds of the Arlington National Cemetery,” the Filipino veterans statement read, stressing “Their dreams are alive in our hearts.”