MANILA, Philippines?It may have come too late for others, but not for Themistocles Chavez, 86. And not for Natividad Perez, 89.

Their old dreams of US recognition fired up by a new American law that would compensate them for fighting with America in World War II, they were among former guerrillas who endured a long line outside the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO) Thursday to file their claims.

Ravaged by old age and disease, a number came strapped in wheelchairs. Ernesto Anastacio was too ill to come and remained confined in the intensive care unit of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City.

The oldest among the veterans that the Philippine Daily Inquirer talked to was aged 96.

They are among the estimated 18,000 surviving Filipino veterans qualified to receive compensation under a $198-million lump-sum package approved on Tuesday by US President Barack Obama.

Veterans with US citizenship will receive a one-time pay of $15,000 each while non-US citizens will each get $9,000.

Owing to their frail conditions, veterans die at the rate of 10 a day, officials say.

Woman guerrilla

Themistocles Chavez, a US citizen, said he would split the $15,000 he stood to get among his grandchildren. But his dreams are tinged with sadness.

?Of course, I am very happy because I?ve been waiting for this for a long time,? Chavez said. ?But I am also sad for those who were not included in the list.?

Perez, 89, said she would travel again to America or Australia. Told by her caretaker Anita of her frail condition, Perez narrowed her itinerary to simply anywhere in the Philippines.

At her age, Perez was prone to memory lapses, the caretaker said.

But Perez?s memory of what she did during the war was clear Thursday. She said she was a guerrilla who helped take care of wounded comrades, and also cooked for them.

Dreaming of new car

Now wobbly at 86, Julio Palada plans to use his $9,000 to recover a parcel of land he pawned years ago after his wife died.

The dreams of Leo Reyes, also in his 80s, are more immediate. He and his wife Isabel hope to replace their 26-year-old car with a brand-new one.

Another veteran intends to use the money to redeem pieces of jewelry hocked in a pawnshop.

Perez, Chavez, Palada and Reyes were among the hundreds of veterans who went home Thursday clutching slips of official paper promising them the longed-for cash.

The veterans, with their relatives, began flocking at the Andres Bonifacio Hall inside the Veterans? Compound as early as 4 a.m.

By noon, more than 200 of them were waiting to meet with representatives from the United States Veterans Affairs (USVA) at the PVAO office in Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City.

Tattered, yellowed

They were clutching pieces of tattered and yellowed papers like they were gems: The papers proved their military service to the United States during the war.

Upon arrival at the PVAO, each veteran was screened, given a ?call number? and asked to wait for his turn to meet with the USVA representatives at the lounge area, where coffee and sandwiches were available for free.

The PVAO made sure that only veterans classified as members of the United States Armed Forces of the Far East (USAFFE), the Philippine Scouts or Recognized Guerillas went past the entrance hall.

Only those belonging to either of the three categories stand to benefit from the US compensation package.

Empty hand, heavy heart

Once inside the temporary USVA office, veterans were asked to fill out application forms?sometimes with the help of USVA representatives because some were too weak or their hands were shaking for them to write legibly, as well as pose for snapshots.

They were strictly reminded to keep in safety the slips of paper attesting to their having applied for the lump-sum payment.

?We will just be informed once our claim has already been approved,? said Nenita Montaos, who accompanied her 85-year-old father, Feliciano Gregorio.

Some were too unlucky to get past ?Step One.? They went home with empty hands?and heavy hearts.

Most of them were spouses of veterans who either have already died or were members of the Hukbong Bayan Laban sa mga Hapon (Hukbalahap).

Rosa Dinginbayan, 82, went to Camp Aguinaldo hoping she could claim compensation. Her husband, Paulino, also fought alongside American soldiers during the war but died last year.

?It?s unfair?

The US law said only living veterans included in the so-called ?Missouri List? were entitled to receive the grant.

?It?s unfair because my husband sacrificed his life to fight for the Americans... Please help me President Barack Obama. I am already weak and I need money for my medicine,? Dinginbayan pleaded.

Andrea Franco, 86, and a former Huk, was upset over her being turned down by PVAO staff screening claimants.

?Why turn us down when we all fought against the Japanese?? Franco said in Filipino. ?It would have been if they had not made the law like this. It only broke our hearts.?

The disappointed elderly was later seen at the Red Cross booth having her blood pressure checked.

Not forgotten

Defense Undersecretary for Veterans Affairs Ernesto Carolina said the PVAO could not do anything for now for spouses of deceased war veterans.

?That?s what the law says. Right now, we are making sure that the grant will go to the right hands,? he told reporters.

?But we will not stop there. The veterans affairs office in Washington will continue to work for other benefits that it can haggle [with the US government].?

Other veterans trooped to the US Embassy, where Ambassador Kristie Kenney was seen talking with them.

But he wasn?t forgotten.

Embassy Veterans Affairs staff Edina San Juan took photographs of the bedridden Anastacio as part of the identification process to help him make his claim. With a report from Associated Press