Members of veterans group protest new by-laws

FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Hell hath no fury like war widows scorned.

War veterans in Manila went to court to stop the implementation of a new constitution of the Veterans Federation of the Philippines (VFP) which leaves out regional chapters and strips war widows and children of their voting rights in the organization.

“Have you seen Section 5? That’s the widows’ gripe,” Conrado Francisco, district president and post commander of the VFP chapter in Manila, told the Inquirer on Tuesday.

Francisco and two other officers filed a civil case in the Manila Regional Trial Court against Ernesto Carolina, administrator of the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office (PVAO), and Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin, who has authority to approve actions and decisions of the VFP.

The petitioners are asking the court to declare the new constitution and by-laws null and void because the legal procedure for amending the charter was not followed. They also asked for a temporary restraining order while the hearing of the case continues.

“In the old constitution, the widows can be elected treasurer, auditor and adjutant, except commander and vice commander of post veterans organizations. There are seven posts in Manila. The new constitution takes away their right to vote and be voted upon. That’s what they are complaining about — their participation was cut off,” Francisco said.

Article V Section 5 of the new VFP constitution states: “Veterans’ widows, sons and daughters, and orphans may organize into separate, independent and exclusive associations for purposes similar to the aims and purposes of the member-organizations, and may affiliate with the federation as associate member without the right to vote or be voted upon.”

“The widows approached me for this. They represent the heroes of the war who died in service. I can’t let them down. I cannot refuse the ladies of the organization,” Francisco said.

He noted that PVAO deducts P500 from their monthly allowance to fund the operations of VFP. He said there are about 500 VFP members in Manila and majority are widows.

The complaint says the new constitution would also result in deactivation of post, district and regional veterans’ organizations as these were no longer mentioned in the membership section, but the 85-year-old Francisco, a post commander, did not seem to mind it that much.

“It’s just added work. But it’s tough to argue with women,” he said with a chuckle.

The new constitution and by-laws signed by Gazmin was presented by PVAO to the VFP in an executive board meeting in August 2013. The VFP has issued resolutions asking Gazmin to recall the new charter but they were apparently left unheeded.

“Instead of giving honor to the veterans, they have deprived them of their vested rights; they have trampled upon their dignity and honor and treated them shabbily and with blatant disrespect,” the complaint said.

The new constitution is “illegal, immoral and unpatriotic” and is tantamount to the plaintiff’s exclusion from participation in their organization, the VFP. The war widows were excluded as well from their participation in the VFP, it added.

“They are in the twilight of their years; they are heroes to whom we owe our democracy; they should not be treated in an oppressive and arbitrary manner,” the complaint added.

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