HONOLULU — Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama says he supports a bill that would award pension benefits to Filipinos who fought under the U.S. flag during World War II.

Obama's campaign Web site posted a statement this week in which he urges his colleagues to provide the veterans with the recognition they deserve.

The Senate Veterans Affairs Committee has already passed a broad bill that includes provisions for the benefits.

Many of the Filipinos now in their 80s and 90s never received the pensions they were promised when they joined the U.S. military to defend the Philippines against invading Japanese forces in World War II.

The U.S. controlled the Philippines as a commonwealth at the time.

The entire Senate has yet to vote on the bill.