19 August 2016 — Philippine Consul General to Chicago and the Midwest Generoso D.G. Calonge met with U.S. Representative Peter John Visclosky of the 1st Congressional District of Indiana at the latter’s office in Merrillville on August 15.
Consul General Calonge discussed the pending H.R. 2737 or the Congressional Gold Medal Act for Filipino Veterans of WWII and requested his support for its passage in the US House of Representatives where 195 members have already signed on as co-sponsors.
The US Senate, last month, passed its own version of the bipartisan bill honoring the legacy of valor and heroism of Filipino veterans. The number of Filipino veterans is now down to less than 20,000. They fought alongside American commanders and soldiers under various units of the U.S. Armed Forces in the Far East.
Recalling the stint of his uncle who also served in Bataan, Congressman Visclosky promised to look into the proposed legislation. As a ranking member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, he also expressed interest in US-PH cooperation on security and defense as well as current geopolitical issues in the region.
Consul General Calonge thanked and hoped for closer cooperation with Congressman Visclosky on behalf of almost 3,000 Filipinos in his district that he has been serving since 1985. END