BY ANTHONY IAN CRUZ

ILLINOIS Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the 2008 Democratic presidential race, on Monday paid tribute to the 22nd anniversary of the 1986 People Power uprising and batted for the passage of the long-delayed "equity bill" for Filipino veterans.

In a statement, Obama said that "twenty-two years after the People Power Revolution in the Philippines, we remember and commemorate the Filipino people who used the democratic, non-violent method of 'people power' to overthrow the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos and end the martial law regime that ruled the Philippines for fourteen years."

"Today, let us join Filipinos in America to honor the sacrifices and determination of the Filipino people in the tireless fight for democracy and freedom," Obama added.

"The time has come for Congress to honor the Filipino veterans of World War II by finally enacting the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007 (S. 57)," he said.

Filipino-Americans have branded the 1946 Rescission Act, which stripped Filipinos who served during World War II of veterans of benefits, as "America's gravest injustice" to Filipinos since the Filipino-American war.

The equity bill seeks to make amends for the injustice.

Obama noted that "approximately 250,000 Filipino troops joined American forces to fight in World War II, but too many of these heroes are still being denied benefits."

He vowed that he will "continue to urge my colleagues to provide the benefits and recognition these veterans deserve."

If approved, the bill would restore the US veterans status of an estimated 7,000 Filipino-American veterans living in the United States and 12,000 Filipino veterans in the Philippines who fought during World War II. They would also be eligible for veterans disability pension benefits.

Sen. Daniel K. Inouye (Democrat-Hawaii) re-filed the bill as S. 57 when Congress opened Jan. 4, 2007.

Rep. Bob Filner (Democrat-California) followed suit after holding a full committee hearing at the House of Committee on Veterans Affairs in February.

The bill picked up steam when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Cal.) expressed her support.

Obama and his rival for the Democratic nomination, Sen. Hillary Clinton (New York), also lent their hand in support of the bill.

The bill passed the Senate's Veterans Affairs Committee last June and the House Veterans Committee the following month.

However, there has been a stalemate since then as Republican legislators oppose the bill, citing the overall cost at nearly $2 billion.