Path: bloom-picayune.mit.edu!enterpoop.mit.edu!snorkelwacker.mit.edu!americast.com!americast.com!americast-post Newsgroups: americast.twt.news From: americast-post@AmeriCast.Com Organization: American Cybercasting Approved: americast-post@AmeriCast.com Subject: GIs leave Subic - and their kids Date: Tue, 24 Nov 92 14:12:10 EST Message-ID: Lines: 107 \SE A \SS (WS) \HD GIs leave Subic - and their kids \BY Eileen Guerrero \CR ASSOCIATED PRESS \DT OLONGAPO, Philippines OLONGAPO, Philippines - Like many of the children fathered by American servicemen, Marivic Rio has mixed emotions about the U.S. military's final departure. "I'm angry at my father because he did not provide me even a single can of milk," said Marivic, a secretarial student who lives with her mother in a one-room apartment. "Nevertheless, I still want to see him, if only to see if he looks like me." U.S. troops today leave nearby Subic Bay Naval Station, the last American installation in this archipelago nation the United States ruled as a colony from 1898 until 1946. The base 50 miles west of Manila was ordered closed after the Philippine Senate last year rejected a proposed 10-year lease. President Fidel Ramos pledged yesterday to support the illegitimate children of U.S. servicemen but stressed that Washington had a continuing obligation to help. "We intend to do justice to these children and treat them as our very own," he said at a weekly news briefing. But Mr. Ramos said there was a corresponding obligation by the servicemen who fathered the children and their military units to give continuing help. "The pullout of the military forces from Subic and the Philippines does not mean the end of their obligation." One of the legacies of the U.S. presence is the more than 50,000 Filipino-Americans in this country of 65 million. Many of them, including 18-year-old Marivic, were sired by American troops who later abandoned them. Unlike Amerasians elsewhere, Marivic and thousands of others in the Philippines have no claim on U.S. citizenship unless their fathers acknowledge paternity and sponsor them for resettlement. U.S. law allows children of American fathers born in Vietnam, South Korea, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia to emigrate and become U.S. citizens. But the Philippines, the only former American colony, was not included in the 1982 law. "We're trying to work with veterans groups to get the law changed," said Bill McCabe, director of the Pearl S. Buck Foundation, which assists Amerasians in the Philippines and elsewhere. "That's the only way we can make any progress with the problem." U.S. officials say the Philippines was not covered by the law because mixed-race children in that country do not suffer the same racial stigma as in other Asian countries. In the Philippines, mixed ancestry is considered a social distinction. Filipinos of American ancestry are among some of the most prominent members of the political, social and business elite. But for those born to impoverished mothers, such as prostitutes, vendors and entertainers, the struggle to survive has been all the more difficult without a father. "Can Amerasians go somewhere in this society? Yes, with proper birth," Mr. McCabe said. "But many of them do need help." The foundation provides assistance, including educational fees, health care and counseling, for about 3,500 Amerasians nationwide. They include about about 1,250 in Olongapo and another 800 in Angeles, home of Clark Air Base, which the Americans left last year. Mr. McCabe said many fathers do ultimately acknowledge their children and sponsor them for U.S. citizenship. But some states do not allow fathers to "legitimize" children born out of wedlock, preventing offspring from claiming U.S. citizenship. Marivic and her sister, Angelita, 21, are among those who have virtually no chance of U.S. citizenship under current laws. Their mother, Visitacion Rio, came to Olongapo from Cebu more than 20 years ago to work in bars in hopes of marrying an American serviceman. Instead, she delivered two daughters, each by a different father. The mother said she wrote the two servicemen - one a sailor, the other a Marine - but neither responded. Bitter over being left on her own, she said she never even told Marivic her father's name until they were interviewed yesterday. Without a husband, Ms. Rio reared her two daughters on a small stipend from the foundation and earnings from selling cigarettes. Angelita is studying engineering in a college in Baguio. "Every time I went with an American I got pregnant," she said. "It's best that they are leaving, because then the 'Kings of the Road' will be gone." This article is copyright 1992 The Washington Times. Redistribution to other sites is not permitted except by arrangement with American Cybercasting Corporation. For more information, send-email to usa@AmeriCast.COM