The revelation of the real Harry Thomas

For a man of tremendous influence like US Ambassador Harry K. Thomas, it was an extraordinary act of humility and courage to apologize to the Filipino people for saying that 40 percent of foreign tourists who visit the Philippines every year come for sex.  I, too, believe that the envoy’s assessment was not exactly correct, but it cannot be denied that the trafficking of Filipino women, including minors, has been a nagging problem and an embarrassment to this country for a long time.

I think that the authorities would do better to sit down with Ambassador Thomas and take advantage of whatever voluntary help the only superpower in the world today has to offer the Philippines to put a stop to the worldwide problem of women trafficking. It may interest them to know that the good ambassador has been monitoring human trafficking cases in the lower courts, this according to a high official of the judiciary.  I would learn later that our country’s name had been taken off the US State Department’s list of countries notorious for human trafficking.

If at all, Thomas’ view on tourism in the Philippines and his subsequent apology suggest strongly a sincere and genuine concern for our country—an impression that first formed in my mind from his previous  public pronouncements and later enhanced by the brief personal “exchanges” and “encounters”  I have had  with him.

Right after assuming his official duties as America’s ambassador to the Philippines in April 2010, Thomas immediately relayed US President Barack Obama’s hope and wish for the  Philippines’ elections that year to be clean,  honest and credible for the sake of freedom, justice and democracy in our country. I have no doubt that this message of his helped steel millions of Filipinos with the “audacity of hope” to be vigilant and involved in ensuring the success of the 2010 elections.

Two days after the May 10 elections, I wrote Ambassador Thomas a letter about my book “Be Your Own Boss! The Puka King Story” and its Filipino comics version. The book is about “small business entrepreneurship” as one of the best ways to transform the Philippines into a nation of dynamic entrepreneurs and thus lift it out of widespread poverty.  I asked for his help to promote the book among Filipinos, particularly among the youth, students, overseas workers and the poor, with the end-view of encouraging  and empowering them to engage in small business.

Three days later, on May 15, 2011, to my pleasant surprise, I received a phone call from a lady who identified herself as someone from the US Embassy. The ambassador, she said, was in the United States at the time, but she had forwarded to him my letter by e-mail, and he had directed her to refer me and my letter to then USAID mission director in Manila, Elzadia Washington, and that she had done as instructed. On May 25, 2010, I again wrote Ambassador Thomas, thanking him for his immediate action on my letter.

After that, we met in several social gatherings, one of them at the despedida (send-off) party hosted by the US Embassy in honor of Washington.

Noting that aside from his anti-human trafficking crusade, Ambassador Thomas was serious in his advocacy for integrity and honesty in both public and private sectors, I suggested to Jun Palafox, president of the Management Association of the Philippines (MAP), himself an anti-graft crusader, that we invite him to one of our general membership meetings.On June 28, 2011, Ambassador Thomas was MAP’s guest of honor and speaker at Manila Peninsula Hotel.

I am convinced that Ambassador Thomas has a heart for the Philippines, and with his work ethic and dedication to service, he is one person that our leaders and our people can do well to emulate. As I told the MAP gathering last June 28, the ambassador has shown that he is willing to do a lot to help our country.

On a more personal note, I wonder what would have happened if the United States had a Republican president in May 2010. Many of our political pundits say it was highly possible that President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo might have continued her stay in Malacañang. And they may have a reasonable ground to believe so.

When martial law was proclaimed on Sept. 21, 1972, America’s president (Richard Nixon) was a Republican, although it was also during the presidency of Republican Ronald Reagan when dictator Ferdinand Marcos was told in February  1986 by a Republican senator, Paul Laxalt, to “cut, and cut cleanly.” If memory serves, the victims of martial law will not easily forget US Vice President George Bush (who later became US president) toasting Marcos, thus: “We love you for your adherence to the principles and practices of democracy in your country.” Bush is a Republican, too.

A final word on Thomas’ apology: It takes true grit to own up to a mistake.

Hernando M. Vitas, 72, is chairman of the Providence-Vitas Foundation Inc., member of the Management Association of the Philippines and author of “Be Your Own Boss! The Puka King Story.”