Filipinos abroad, especially those living in the United States, were hit by a ton of news affecting home - in a matter of less than 10 days.

They were made of both good news and bad news. First the good news.

After 62 long years of waiting - 12,000 living World War II Filipino war veterans - got the recognition for fighting America's war in the Pacific. The Senate Bill 1315 sponsored by Democratic senator Daniel Inouye called "Veterans Enhancement Act of 2007" was approved by an astonishing 96-1 vote which will soon give a monthly compensation to Filipino war veterans equal to the those accorded to the so-called G.I.s of WWII.

The act when signed into law will give monthly compensation of about P12,000 for single veterans, P15,000 for married veterans and about P8,000 for widowed veterans.

The bases seem full - and a home run is expected on the issue with very little resistance expected from the US House of Representatives and president George Bush who promised to sign the bill into law once it reaches his table at the White House.

Filipino veterans (Boholanos especially) are enjoined to prepare their papers ASAP because the payout can happen even this year 2008.

It is noteworthy that presidential Democratic hopeful (the first US woman president, if ever elected) Hillary Clinton was co-sponsor of the Bill while colored rival - candidate senator Barack Obama did not vote on the Act as he was busy campaigning. That should be a hint as to who the Fil-Am voters should prefer voting for in the coming presidential polls.

We recall that Franklin Delano Roosevelt conscripted 18,000 Filipinos to augment the 250,000 American troops before and after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese - with the promise that Filipinos will get the same health and pension benefits as the American soldiers.

After the war was won, however, America broke her promise with the passage in 1946 of the Rescission Act denying equal benefits for Filipino war veterans with their American counterparts. It's been a long 62-year struggle before America finally saw the injustice they imposed on Filipino allies who fought to save democracy.

Senator Inouye summarized it so succinctly: "Sorry we are late." and "It's not a matter of money. It's a matter of honor. Filipinos were willing to stand in harm's way and kept the Japanese occupied. The war in the Pacific would have ended later if not for the Filipinos." Sixty two years later - with so many veterans already six feet under the earth - America heals her amnesia.

Among the Boholano veterans who failed to see this honor and financial privilege properly lodged on the Filipino war veterans was Tagbilaran City resident and former BIR officer Jose "Joe" Q. Pernia who died a few days before his 87th birthday here in the city January of this year. Now he will also miss the honor of knowing that his race has been acknowledged as war heroes by the Americans.

Joe Pernia was wounded by the Japanese soldiers in the war and was awarded the Purple Cross medal for valor by the United States government.

But as they say, better late than never.

But bad news also bears.

Coming off the nursing examination cheating controversy two years ago -comes the news that some dishonest Filipino businessmen and doctors in connivance with certain Ugly Americans ripped off some US$100-million from the United States treasury from 1998-2003 by inflating (up to 230%) health claims by American veterans and dependents who served in the Philippines. The USA used to operate the Clark Air Base and the Subic Naval Base up to 1992 when the senate abrogated the treaty.

Filipinos represented by Health Visions Corp (largely) depicted the Filipinos once again as expert cheats and manipulators that drew the ire of Federal Judge Barbara Crabbs.

Six Filipinos including medical personnel will soon be recommended for extradition by the USA and the local NBI will make sure they will be.

The American court also ordered the culprits to sell (in 10 months) their assets in the Philippines including land, office, buildings and hospitals and several house in the United States.

The second "Bad News" blow came from the You Tube broadcasting of the controversial filmed operation done at the former Southern Islands Hospital in Cebu City recently. A 39-year florist-employee was put on video while a body spray canister was operated off his rectum presumably inserted by a boyfriend after a homosexual act.

The Filipinos doctors and nurses in the operating room were seen laughing and giggling in the course of the operation.

The medical personnel have been identified and they could altogether lose their medical licenses to practice - as clearly they have thrown the Ethics Book out of the window. Clearly, too, they violated the human rights of the unknowing patient - likely sedated by anesthesia- and he is using the doctors and nurses for P6 million in damages.

Videotaping an operation without the patient's knowledge and consent and allowing non-members of the Operating Team inside the operating room are - without doubt - legal, administrative and moral atrocities. They deserve the oncoming charges and the public's outrage.

But the nursing exam scandal, the falsified US veteran claims certified by Filipino doctors and the horrible Cebu operation controversy has certainly and unduly put the Filipino medical professional in an extremely odorous predicament.

There are only a few joyful persons on earth who are strutting their butts through town heralding their moral victory with respect to the Filipino practicing medical professionals: the producers of "Desperate Housewives." Now they can say: We told you so - not only are these Filipinos incompetent but are unethical as well."

We will all strongly debate those foul, racist statements - because indeed the culprits are not representative but rather the exceptions to the thousands of others who are both competent and upright medical Filipino practitioners - here and abroad.

We certainly hope the next few days will bring out more good than bad news.

But with the rice crisis, oil per barrel cost at US$ 119 and an American recession - who knows what's next?

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