US envoy Harry Thomas Jr. eats humble pie: Sorry for sex tourism dig

I may sound a broken record for saying this,

“Walang magpapagamit kung walang gagamit.”

For prostitutes, not being able to find a job is never an excuse of succumbing to be a prostitute.

Sad but true.

Shame on us. But more on Mr. Thomas by making the statement publicly.

I wrote before that I will wait for the Wikileaks version of Thomas’ statement. My theory at the time was that the ambassador overheard it during a cocktail party from some inebriated low-key officials, whose ranks were inversely proportional to their egos, and Thomas took them seriously. Looks like I don’t have to wait no more.

and yeah, the other option is to starve? for what? dignity and what not? those who engage in “anti-social” acts precisely do so because of a lack of choice (you might want to ask them but its not their dream job). for you it may be a matter of blurting out fancy slogans but for them, it may be a matter of survival (yes shockingly, kahit pa ang ibig sabihin nito ay magpagamit sila). 

these people don’t have the educational background to qualify them for, oh i dont know, call center work? (since that seems to be the readily available job). they don’t really see themselves as having much of a choice. these people are working their souls off to survive regardless of the social stigma. they deserve more than a comment like that.

Clarify lang. Ibig sabihin ng ‘us’ eh United States?

I just spent from May 6th 2011 to August 25th 2011 in jail one month
of that in the jails hospital, after officers broke into our
apartment, broke/fractured my arm, damaged my back and traumatized my
wife, cats and me on false arrest charges. 
My wife was forced to move from a senior citizen living facility 
and we are both damaged by the incident which was created by an 
executive at the property management group called Bur-Cal Property 
Management in Burbank California they called in a bogus tip to the 
Burbank PD and an officer perjured himself in court which is a felony. 
The jail almost killed me by creating bogus test results
harassing me during blood pressure tests and the doctors prescribing 
blood pressure medication when I did not require it. I could not stand
without falling, Near death they forced needles on me, prescribed 14
pills, where just the cost of medicine like that is astronomical and on
disability I would not be able to afford the co pay, yet they were
forcing narcotics on me and needles. I was almost gone. 
Writing my public defender and the ACLU for a month, when the 
attorney finally came to see me they moved me so I would miss them. 
It was a real nightmare in that jail. Every wall is covered in blood, teeth, 
and pain for little or no reason. Truth is I was very close to death and 
now we (my dear wife, our cats, and me) will never be the same. 
Going in w/arm and back hurt they said smile for the camera or we 
can’t take your picture, Case has since been dismissed 
but we are seeking legal restitution.

Let me tell you about my families setting me up for an exorcism and
her need for money through political, and religious pandering
concerning sex.

I remember living behind a church were Brian Lamb, and a bunch of
these CSPAN guys used too have a wood shop. At that place of residence
my mom thought I needed an exorcist, after playing in the mud the way
very young children will sometimes with my uncle who mixed a glass of
this red clay in water and told me it was chocolate milk.

After drinking it as he would force me to do thing all the time like
the time he made me cut off the limb I was sitting on and the device
came out of my shoulder being more powerful and in control I broke out
with ring worm all over my body and my mom told me it was writing that
could not be understood so she had priests come in from the church.

I guess my Dad did not know that one of the people at the church was
in line for being my new dad but that was not in the cards because I
guess he felt I was in need of discipline after an accident in the
wood shop. I had been check out on the band saw by my grandfather who
was a millwright in Washington and Arkansas and to do some jobs 
the blade shield had to be removed. 
Some kids came in and wanted to use the saw, then got
mad that I wanted to warn them to put the guard on and they told me
they owned it all and I was not to tell them anything, and after this
head strong kid cut his thumb off the other kids said they would tell
their fathers it was all my fault, but it was not.

I had a fever of well over a hundred and I was a bloody mess with the
infection. The priests came in with outer guys and one had a camera.
The priests would throw me across the room while the other snapped a
picture. I would fall on furniture and the floor and they would tell
me get on the bed, don’t get off the bed very loud and when I would
crawl back on the bed they would pick me up and throw me over and over
again well the other priest would snap another picture and this went
on till one guy said we have enough picture and they left me in the
blood, mud, and bedding, then my aunt came in with some save that was
for ring worm.

She spread the save and kidded me about dying when the rings got to my
heart. After getting well I went back to the wood shop and the guys
had made me a special shield and gave me my sword which were both made
of wood and I had to fight one of the guys in my shorts because I did
not want to remove them and the other guy was naked (he knows who he
is). I was still not up too speed and lost the battle. They then
called me the bad guy and this group was supposed to be my gate keeper
or something like that appointed by the priests. My Dad did not like
them much also but that did not matter much because someone at the
church was going to be my new dad till the guy from the church said no, 
my mom cried allot,my dad was gone, I healed up, but I still have a case.

Please know that there is nothing any one can do to make what was
done right and the ones involved can do to make this my fault. See at
the time I was about seven years old. Since then the church has made
an effort to kill me, to the extent of trying to pass laws to kill sex
offenders. The planed parenthood group were instrumental in setting 
up my mothers marriage to the abusive step dad that created an
environment in the home of abuse which was my youth and politically 
motivated individuals were involved from there on mixing religious 
overtones that took me down a road of understanding that no one
should have to travel to the understanding that I have now which 
helped me get past these horrors of life.

Come on, keep it up, keep pushing laws that as a group of very
sad individuals know have no value. Take me too court so I can own a
network. I have met with your staff members from CSPAN
 in private in my doctors office since along with military personal 
in San Diego and others through job assignments that have taken me
around the world.

Now lets note when this happened I was only a small child being thrown
around a room like a rag doll by people that started all this clear
back in the late fifty’s and the steering by very bad people that
think abusing kids to make laws to stop abuse, have some worth.
These laws are bogus and the fact that they can not kill gays anymore 
does not justify the use of laws too kill someone set up by them to 
create some worthless set of laws by a fusion of church and state 
is wrong and realty designed by them to harm us all.

My case was pragmatic but more than that I know what was done and who
was involved making vendetta laws that really have no bases in truth,
and are based in lies.

Nasermunan yan na galing sa Washington. Its his comments or his job !!!
Protocol !!!!

Thank you Mr. Thomas for the 40% remark, you have just put our gov’t in panic mode. Between you and our gov’t officials, I will choose to believe you. I am Filipino but has lost faith in our gov’t. officials specially the elected ones.

Are you ALLOWED to comment unsupervised?

Statistics shows 8 out of 10 tourist comes to the Philippines looking for beautiful women. The other 2 are looking for men.

ddd

What a d*ck head ambassador…maybe he is one of the sex tourist and should be investigated…

40% is a COMPLIMENT.  The Philippine politicians should be happy, because the reality looks way more worse than only 40%  

Anyway, whatever those politicians does not change the reality and it is a fact that the Philippines are considered among foreigners as sex-tourism-land, especially that sex is offered everywhere and at any time.

Let’s say for a minute that the Ambassador is correct…so, what’s his solution? Naming problems is easy but it takes a real genius to name a solution. Mr. Ambassador, don’t just point out problems, do something about it.

I’ll say this too, if I were going to go out looking for sex, the Philippines would be the place I’d go because Filipinas are the most beautiful women on earth.

Manipis and muka ng mga Filipino pagdating sa mga ganito pero subrang kapal ang mukha pagdating sa graft and corruption. History will tell you that if other countries make comments, RP will always resort to self-defense and immediately will demand apology. Hindi muna tinitingnan at kung my babaguhin, dapat baguhin. The comment by Thomas could be true, how else could this ”red districts” around Metro Manila flourish. Best thing mga kabayan buksan and mga mata bago magreklamo. Years ago when PAL was  downgraded because of some safety concerns, reklamo agad ang RP before it even checked the reason for the downgrage and did something about it. 

Sex tourism/prostitution and human trafficking are problems confronting not only the Philippines but other countries as well, particularly the ones in the developing world. However, when we look at the issue of sex tourism and prostitution, we can’t just lay the blame on one country or person. These problems are brought about by the economic imbalance between rich and poor countries. Foreign men are enticed into coming to the Philippines or Thailand for example to buy cheap sex. Can we blame them? No, because the market for cheap sex (although illegal) really exist in these countries. How about the wo(men) who works in these kind of industry, can we blame them? I don’t know for sure. Another issue involve here is racial stereotypes—like how Filipino women are imagined by foreign men and how Filipino women imagine foreign (white) men. Prostitution is a very sensitive and difficult issue and it is high time that our government deal with the problem properly, not just by demanding Mr. Thomas to apologize.

BISHOP   BISHOP   BACANI BACANI

Please do not oppose the passage of the RH Bill.

That way the Catholic Church could help reduce the social problem of human trafficing.

ang tanga mo naman Im103mike! ano naman pakialam ni Amb. Thomas sa problema natin? it is not his work or duty or concern to do something about the prostitution problem of the country! mag-research ka nga kung ano ang duties and responsibilities ng isang ambassador! US ambassador sya tanga at hindi ambassador ng Pinas… Kadaming tanga talaga sa Pinas na kagaya mo kaya di umuunlad ang bayan!

so now that thomas issued a forced apology, are we happy now?  will those 40% stop coming now?  i even believe it is not only 40%!  the filipina’s charm is known worldwide and any white guy who is not gay who comes over is almost always interested to savor some!  even local men do!

hay kaplastikan!

We’ve become so sensitive about what the negative comments about our country. What about using more of our ‘people power’ and demand from our lazy politicians to look into our country’s crime  problem. Everyday, there are shootings everywhere. May binaril dito, may binaril doon. The ‘keeping up appearances’ mentality natin should be kept to one side. Instead, let’s do something to prove to others that our country is worth visiting,(safe shopping, sight-seeing, etc)and not just for the attractive sex industry. Pikon na pikon ang mga ibang politician natin, but I can bet my life, arte lang nila for vote points.Typical narcissistic parasites they are.

The fact is there is a modern slavery or sex trade on going in the Philippines. It may not be exactly 40 percent of male tourists coming (no pun intended)..it could be more male tourists coming for the sex tourism industry visibly seen thriving in many cities around the country.. people want to know what the Filipino government is doing about this problem.

 Winston Churchill said, ”Wise men learn by other men’s mistakes, fools by their own.”
What can I further say? Nothing, except that fools and mistakes go hand in hand.
Fools talk first without thinking; then be sorry latter. There are matters that need not be
touched even with a ten-foot pole. Sensitive matters. The wise knows how to discern them
and avoid them.

 Hindi lang po si Bishop Bacani kundi buong Simbahang Katoliko ang hindi sang-ayon sa RH Bill.

Pasaway na katoliko ang sumusuporta sa RH Bill.

So what now, is the government going to do anyhting with the the problem? Or maybe we Filipinos just have to live with it and shut any foreigner who dare say anything about any problem we have because it hurts. What a false pride!

 amb.thomas, stop smoking weed or eating mushroom and take your medication daily , .
bacani , reality hurts pero kahit ano pa sabihin mo sa totoo lng ang simbahan ang isa sa dahilan kung bakit mahirap ang bansa natin

“If (the US ambassador) is wrong, then let it serve as a wake-up call to us,” Bacani said. He said that instead of taking Thomas’ statements as derogatory to the Philippines, government officials must deem it a warning.”

Finally, a sane voice, out of all of the insane ones we have been hearing from on such an obvious issue.

Is the Filipino’s skin so thin that a foreigner stating the obvious, while actually trying to do something about it, is pilloried for for his comments? Obviously, Yes.

What have Secretary Albert del Rosario, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima, or Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago done about the rampant child prostitution in the Philippines lately? Nothing! It is SOP for them as usual.  

truth hurts indeed!

The issue about the good ambassador was not whether it is true, as he said, that 40%, or 60%, or even just 2% of foreign tourists come here for sex. The issue is the good ambassador’s mouth. Should good ambassadors speak the way he does? Hudas not know that there is sex trade here? Tanong niyo pa kay Hayden Kho. The Chinese ambassador also knows what Thomas knows about sex in the PH. So does the Japanese ambassador. So does the Australian, French, German, Spanish ambassadors. They even know that some of their countrymen are involved in pedophilia, sex and human trade, and even Internet sex crimes here and in many other countries. However, ambassadors are chosen specifically for their ability to be “diplomatic” especially when opening their mouths. I don’t think Pinoys are insulted in hearing the truth. Kahit nga sa mga coup or when nakalubog na ang leeg sa tubig baha nakatawa pa rin ang Pinoy eh. Bad behaviors are what we find disgusting: kadaldalan, kayabangan, kabastusan, kawalang pitagan sa mga mamamayan ng isang bansa, atbp. Ang Pinoy pa? Hiya nga tayong sabihan ang kilala natin na mabaho ang kanyang hininga or may putok siya, di ba?

Only 40%?!  hehehe..

A diplomatic protest is a good threat. The embassy in Japan should do the same on clubs in Japan displaying Philippine flags.

Prostitution is about poverty, if only the government could provide other job opportunities.

once again we are faced with defending our supposed image; not honor per se, but the perception that we think others hold of us, and by others i mean everybody else out there. it is sometimes sad that we value so much how others would perceive us, and would do everything we can to correct and justify every non-compliant and non-aggreable contention others may have of us.  amb. thomas may have been undiplomatic on how he conveyed his findings, but to slap him with protests here and there just deviates us from the real issue, which is: whether or not what he said was true. if it is what are we doing to curve this horrible truth? and if not true then we should wonder why the amb. said it in the first place.his statement might not be reflective of our nation as a whole, but rather with the kind of americans who comes into our country. if the latter is true, then perhaps we should strengthen our list of sex offenders by coordinating with US authorities on this matter. and since we are a soveriegn state, we can then deny entry to these alleged and convicted sex offenders. however, if it is our image and reputation as a nation that makes our country so inviting to these pervs, then perhaps we should look more cautious and be more vigilant when we see a foriegner with a minor in tow for example. it has been our tolerance for these little, “unnoticeable” perversions that have turned our nation into a sex paradise for foriegners.

The US Ambassador Mr. Thomas, is right because there are lot of Filipino woman who wanted to marry foreigner to augment their lives here in the Philippines, its one way to escape from poverty, there are lot of Filipino  girls exploring through internet post themselves and flirt, even working professional are often doing that, in Mindanao alone there are lots, for a example a manager of a recruitment agency expose herself in the internet and flirting with white guys,… The Agency is owned by known university in Zamboanga City..

Most  of  Government offices and other private entity in Mindanao are just much fascinating in doing these, so we cannot blame Mr. Thomas, he is just telling the truth, prostitution are very rampant in our country, these are like cancer..

Basically the Philippines is one of the top ten sex trade industries.

Malacanang is understandably outraged with Amb. Thomas’s comments on sex tourism because they know for a fact that 40% is way too high. They insisted PNoy, who is a 51-year-old carousing bachelor himself, should know better about the sex business in the country than the Ambassador. Accordingly, PNoy corrected and pegged that number now to a low 39.5% to which Thomas agreed. After the agreement, PNoy and the U.S. Ambassador kind of celebrated and decided to visit a prestigious (Look, I didn’t say notorious) massage parlor in Pasay, and both have a “happy ending”.

Father Bacani is right but first we have to clarify what the yankee meant by 40%. Don’t forget between the US ambassador and Pnoy, the american governenment will believe their own when push comes to shove.

Ang daming utu-uto sa forum na ito. Inamin na nga ng ambassador na wala basehan ang sinabi niya, pero eto ang mga utu-uto, bilib pa rin. Bwah-ha-ha!!!!

Idol!!! Galing mo!!! Kung yung ambassador wala basehan, ikaw naman meron. Saan mo nakuha ang datos na iyan?

Hoy Bishop Bacani, naging Emeritus ka pa pala. Kumusta na yun kabit mo? May anak na ba kayo?

Ano ibig sabihin ng “wake up call” eh mali nga ang sinabi, walang basehan?

Bishop Bacani should first ask himself what he could do as a priest to help solve this clearly moral problem. So many priests are now involved in politics that they have forgotten their true calling which is to promote correct morality. Prostitution flourishes not just because of poverty but more so because of moral bankruptcy. Yet some of the priests enter government through some government boards to have easier access to resources, in violation of the constitutional principle of separation of church and state. Now Bishop Bacani wants to pass on the responsibility of solving this problem to the government. Is this an admission that his church has failed in its duty and is incapable of correcting? Or is he also afraid to confront his own moral failings?

OK, He has apologized, so now move on and try and clean your act up about the issue. Which I believe is being addressed regarding the trafficking issues, there is a lot of work being done that the average Pinoy has no idea about. It is a tedious process and dangerous for the investigators. Regarding pedophiles, again this needs to be seriously pursued further and not limited to western foreigners. There are more Asian male sex tourist than anyone wants to admit. It is always easy to point the finger at the westerner, since they don’t have the money to buy their way out of it like the Chinese, Korean or Japanese men do. Start looking at your own backyard now and do something about.

Very Funny, is US envoy Mr. Harry Thomas Jr. 

So what kung nag sorry para tumigil ang mga papansin ng kakangawa?

Do something to change the bad impression rather than forcing them to issue empty apologies. 

Very funny, is US envoy Mr. Harry Thomas Jr..A Diplomat should always act as a Diplomat by action, not just by words. 

… in which he is excluded from the 40%… inggit lang siya cuz he can’t get some…

What are we asking Thomas to apologize for
1. He did not do his homework so he just guessed the number;
2. 40% is way too high;
3. He is not a Filipino and has no right to say anything like that.

Remember some few years back this foreign actress who commented that this place somewhere in Manila stinks? Well she got barred from entering our country again.
But I hope they did something to un-stink that place. Did they?

I just spent from May 6th 2011 to August 25th 2011 in jail one month of that in the jails hospital, after officers broke into our apartment, broke/fractured my arm, damaged my back and traumatized my wife, cats and me on false arrest charges.
My wife was forced to move from a senior citizen living facility
and we are both damaged by the incident which was created by an executive at the property management group called Bur-Cal Property Management in Burbank California they called in a bogus tip to the Burbank PD and an officer perjured himself in court which is a felony. The jail almost killed me by creating bogus test results
harassing me during blood pressure tests and the doctors prescribing blood pressure medication when I did not require it. I could not stand without falling, Near death they forced needles on me, prescribed 14 pills, where just the cost of medicine like that is astronomical and on disability I would not be able to afford the co pay, yet they were forcing narcotics on me and needles. I was almost gone.
Writing my public defender and the ACLU for a month, when the
attorney finally came to see me they moved me so I would miss them.
It was a real nightmare in that jail. Every wall is covered in blood, teeth, and pain for little or no reason. Truth is I was very close to death and now we (my dear wife, our cats, and me) will never be the same.
Going in w/arm and back hurt they said smile for the camera or we can’t take your picture, Case has since been dismissed
but we are seeking legal restitution.

Let me tell you about my families setting me up for an exorcism and
her need for money through political, and religious pandering
concerning sex.

I remember living behind a church were Brian Lamb, and a bunch of
these CSPAN guys used too have a wood shop. At that place of residence
my mom thought I needed an exorcist, after playing in the mud the way
very young children will sometimes with my uncle who mixed a glass of
this red clay in water and told me it was chocolate milk.

After drinking it as he would force me to do thing all the time like
the time he made me cut off the limb I was sitting on and the device
came out of my shoulder being more powerful and in control I broke out
with ring worm all over my body and my mom told me it was writing that
could not be understood so she had priests come in from the church.

I guess my Dad did not know that one of the people at the church was
in line for being my new dad but that was not in the cards because I
guess he felt I was in need of discipline after an accident in the
wood shop. I had been check out on the band saw by my grandfather who
was a millwright in Washington and Arkansas and to do some jobs
the blade shield had to be removed.
Some kids came in and wanted to use the saw, then got
mad that I wanted to warn them to put the guard on and they told me
they owned it all and I was not to tell them anything, and after this
head strong kid cut his thumb off the other kids said they would tell
their fathers it was all my fault, but it was not.

I had a fever of well over a hundred and I was a bloody mess with the
infection. The priests came in with outer guys and one had a camera.
The priests would throw me across the room while the other snapped a
picture. I would fall on furniture and the floor and they would tell
me get on the bed, don’t get off the bed very loud and when I would
crawl back on the bed they would pick me up and throw me over and over
again well the other priest would snap another picture and this went
on till one guy said we have enough picture and they left me in the
blood, mud, and bedding, then my aunt came in with some save that was
for ring worm.

She spread the save and kidded me about dying when the rings got to my
heart. After getting well I went back to the wood shop and the guys
had made me a special shield and gave me my sword which were both made
of wood and I had to fight one of the guys in my shorts because I did
not want to remove them and the other guy was naked (he knows who he
is). I was still not up too speed and lost the battle. They then
called me the bad guy and this group was supposed to be my gate keeper
or something like that appointed by the priests. My Dad did not like
them much also but that did not matter much because someone at the
church was going to be my new dad till the guy from the church said no,
my mom cried allot,my dad was gone, I healed up, but I still have a case.

Please know that there is nothing any one can do to make what was
done right and the ones involved can do to make this my fault. See at
the time I was about seven years old. Since then the church has made
an effort to kill me, to the extent of trying to pass laws to kill sex
offenders. The planed parenthood group were instrumental in setting
up my mothers marriage to the abusive step dad that created an
environment in the home of abuse which was my youth and politically
motivated individuals were involved from there on mixing religious
overtones that took me down a road of understanding that no one
should have to travel to the understanding that I have now which
helped me get past these horrors of life.

Come on, keep it up, keep pushing laws that as a group of very
sad individuals know have no value. Take me too court so I can own a
network. I have met with your staff members from CSPAN
in private in my doctors office since along with military personal
in San Diego and others through job assignments that have taken me
around the world.

Now lets note when this happened I was only a small child being thrown
around a room like a rag doll by people that started all this clear
back in the late fifty’s and the steering by very bad people that
think abusing kids to make laws to stop abuse, have some worth.
These laws are bogus and the fact that they can not kill gays anymore
does not justify the use of laws too kill someone set up by them to
create some worthless set of laws by a fusion of church and state
is wrong and realty designed by them to harm us all.

My case was pragmatic but more than that I know what was done and who
was involved making vendetta laws that really have no bases in truth

Sorry, hah? Wala kayong prosti sa Angeles, Barretto, Roxas Blvd., Quezon Ave., EDSA Pasay, Puerto Galera, Boracay etc., etc., etc.  At wag mong kalimutan ang mga cultural entertainers sa Japan etc. Sumasayaw sila ng tinikling lang.
Denial ay ang pangalan ng isang ilog sa Ehipto.

disgraceful comments, he should be made to resign

The person already apologized, now can we move on? Stop whining like juveniles and prove him wrong through actions, I bet he is telling the truth, but we do not have any statistics and just through words of mouth and right people are reacting as though Filipinos are living in a perfect life….. when they do not have enough information about this, for all we know this may or may not be the truth…..we should use more of action than ovely hyper mouth…but too slow with action.

Talk about 40% too high, sounds like someone in this forum is in cloud 9 high, telling his gibberish life story to people who probably couldn’t care less. He definitely needs a detox.

Rephrasing the old adage; make your words short and sweet because you can never tell if you have to eat them later on. Putting the 40% controversy aside; prostitution is alive and well in Metro Manila and as many of us are aware that poverty is the root cause of it. No woman in her right mind will sell her body for pleasure’s sake.

 Ambassador Thomas should ask his boss, Pres Obama, to be recalled to US.

He has no business staying in the Philippines.

INALIPUSTA NIYA ANG PHILIPPINES.   DI NIYA KAYANG GAWIN IYAN SA IBANG BANSA.

DIIPLOMAT?  WALANG TACT?

The concept of HIYA is, in your case, in fact, AWAY FROM YOU FACE equal to the distance between the Earth and the Moon.

GO AWAY!!!!!    MAGSAMA KAYO NI KK (KRISTIE KENNY) SA KUNG SAAN MAN KAYO NANGGALING.

Great. He apologized. He was wrong. There is no prostitution in The Philippines and American men do not come to the Philippines for sex holidays.

Angelses city does not exist. Those 200 girlie clubs there do not exist. Those 5,000 prostitutes there do not exist. The 100 hotels there full of foreigners do not exist.

Fantastic. All is well. We are happy in our ignorance. Let’s get back to normal….

Amb. Thomas suffering from FMD.  Foot in Mouth Disease…. nganga… 

At least he apologised, He is gentleman enough to apologise, unlike PH government, not an apology being made  for their blunder in the Manila Hostage killing where 8 hostages lives were lost. compliment with   sipping tea of the city mayor and the smiling president The  whole world watched and has not forgotten it.

he could be one of the customers. an insider knows better.

wala talaga? wala akong makita. talaga wala? wala? kasi di ako nagpupunta duon. siguro napuntahan mo na lahat yan kaya alam mo.

siguro nung di pa sya assign dito bumisita na yan at kumuha din ng magdalena sa malate kaya alam nya

As an ambassador you are not treated like everyone else because you represent the US – therefore there is greater expectation from you.

 If he was truly sincere, then he would have had the balls to apologize in public (as in formal statement). just to counter the effects of his irresponsible statement.

Ambassador Thomas is truly American – always arrogant and sure about themselves, but if you prove that they are wrong, they do not have the honor to admit it ( the proper way) and make things right.

If he were in a country with people with enough pride in themselves, he will be packing for home.
‘Yan ang kulang sa ating mga PIlipino- dangal.

And with that, the government will do nothing about underground sex tourism once again, just as long as it is not explicitly mentioned by anyone.

And I suppose Noynoy gets a free pass for his non-apology towards the victims of the hostage massacre in 2010? That’s a bigger gaffe since that news spread the whole world over. Thomas’ comments weren’t even false, only the numbers cited have no studies backing it, but on perception alone, it stands to scrutiny, both by foreigners and locals.

You are truly Pinoy, full of double standards and missing the bigger issues at hand. Keep trying.

mang tomas did the right thing
may natitira pa rin palang hiya

You are suffering from gross blindness. I pity you.

Nice.

Try Noynoy. He has zero tact and he unfortunately represents and leads the country. You actually have zero business being a Filipino, since like your beloved president, you keep missing the real issues for “pogi points”. You’re part of the problem, you should move elsewhere.

It is not 40% but it is 50% ja ja ja joke lang, , , , What the Ambassador commented should not be an issue as it is true there is sex tourism in the Philippines we just don’t have statistics as authorities looks the other way. The Ambassador’s comment is a wake up call.

TRUTH hearts——-Philippine politician who PROTESTED against US ambassador REMARKS are NAIV—-
WORLD tourist both men and women MAINLY are SEX tour——-Its the TRUTH—-
And as LONG as Philippine women are POOR—-they are READY to OFFER themselves on TOURIST for MONEY ——
Rich coutries prostitutes OFFER theire BODY for sex because they NEED drugs to SUPPORT HABITS—
PROSTITUTIONS are less SINNER than CORRUPT officials—–CORRUPTION created poverty that LEADS poor to Prostitutions–
Philippine HAVE rather SALUTE prostitutes than CORRUPT politician in Philippines.

Ambassador Thomas is all class, honor and integrity. Now its time for Philippine authorities to apologize to Hong Kong for the deaths of their nationals…

Dapat nga iapplaud pa natin si Ambassador Thomas.
First, he advertised the country for sex tourism destination. Di ba target ni Pnoy 6 million tourists, at least free ad pa  from ambassador of the US.
Second, it means to say that filipinas are beautiful to have sex, alangan naman sa africa pa maghanap. Kita naman nyo third runner up na naman sa Miss Universe ang Pinas.

On the other hand, Mr. Thomas is just telling the truth. The truth of the matter is truth hurts deep in our heart.
Dapat wag na tayong maging Hypocrite, talaga naman na puntahan tayo for sex because of our beautiful women.
Isa pa, wala naman maibigay na trabaho ang gobyerno para pigilan ang ating kababaihan para sa tourista.

If YOU and only YOU think that everybody knows it do you really have to make this unnecessary comment. Now everyone know how stupid are you and that has to be posted for everyone to know.

Can I just ask one very noticable thing about your comment, YOUR SPELLING!! Tagalugin mo na lang much better.

To All: Be very sensitive on your comments dont forget your subject of discussion, mockery and making funny stupid jokes are our very own kababayan. Their lives are already ruined, stop adding insult they need help and support not your stupid JOKES. Mahal ko lang ang kababayan ko.

what if the Philippine Ambassador for the US said. “Racial profiling is still rampant in the US”. what would Americans say? they would react the same way…and that’s the point of this whole thing. foreign delegates shouldn’t be saying those things, and if they did, then they should fix it.

as vinzerx said, the comments above fall under his statement “….comments weren’t even false, only the numbers cited have no studies backing it, but on perception alone, it stands to scrutiny, both by foreigners and locals”

anything about hong kong is out of topic and a poor defense for the actions of the ambassador. 

For those saying that 40% is true – then good for you being such an expert, do you even know the exact number of tourist going to the PH?

we will not let any foreigner step all over us because our country is poor and struggling . We will not  let them say bad things about our country and get away with it…..have some pride — if you’re not happy in the PH, migrate to america!

Wow!!!!   So even the USA Ambassador has gotten caught in this   making sentences  without really have facts or statistics to back himself up.  Or maybe the sentence was true within 1 standard deviation, but  Malakanyang demands precision, of course  especially after the leaks — former Ambassador Kinney statements her impressions of leadership qualities of the new-president Noynoy Aquino.

I admire your patriotism but how about saying “If you’re not happy in the PH – Change it” instead of telling people to migrate to America.

The Ambassador did not say that to “step all over you because you are poor and struggling”. If you take that Poor-Me attitude you’ll never improve. Better to take criticism and improve rather than complain about the message and shoot the messenger.
 

You are a typical BACKWARD pilipino—I dont NEED perfect spelling its the CONTENT that MATTERS—–I dont HAVE colonial mentality like YOU—–

I
applaud ambassador Clarence Thomas for apologizing for his
mistake in stating before the media that 40% of foreign male tourists
come to the country only for ‘sex tours’. Because it’s not 40%. It should be somewhere from 70% to 80%.

What is there to see? The bigger picture? The truth? Well, Amb. Thomas apologized after realizing he cannot provide actual data to prove his statement.  Classic foot in the mouth if you ask me…….. I didn’t say he lied…. so what blindness are you talking about? 
Oh, the prostitution……yes……. it was mentioned there somewhere….  what about it?

The statement of Amb Thomas about 40% of foreigners coming to the Philippines for sex refers more maybe to his fellow americans and not necessarily to all tourists from other countries. But while there is truth to our lucrative flesh business serving as effective come-ons to mostly male tourists, it is also true that we have many other things that they easily fall in love with. For sure they like our hospitality and natural friendliness, and love to frolic too on our pristine beaches in Boracay, Palawan, Bohol etc with or without Filipina escorts.

We don`t need the American Ambassador – or any other foreign nationals – to tell us a glaring truth that we ourselves ignore and then get piqued and defensive about whenever that truth is brought before us by other people. Yet we can`t deny that prostitution in our country is thriving and competes with if not leads the legit industries in terms of profitability. Not that our women are really ‘pokpoks’ , but like the rest of us they are also victims of the wanton corruption and insatiable greed of some of our fellow Pinoys, most notably the politicians whose voices are ironically the shrillest on this issue.

.

The Ambassador is just trying to be a true friend of the Filipinos – because we are not getting the truth from our government servants. Unfortunately most of us are NOT mature enough to face reality and the purpose of the statement. Now that he has unneccesarily apologized then what? Have our good senators trying to get the right figure? Are they presenting solutions to the  problems? Anyone that felt “insulted” doing anything about it – demanding more corrective actions from the politicians? Now you bull-headed Filipino “patriots” do you feel good to have your pound of flesh from the Ambassador while in the midts of Sex Dens, Bars, Go-Go Dancers, Massage parlors etc.? How do you claim Filipino pride when informed of the truth and tolerate ramphant flesh trading for far too long? How come we don’t want foreigners to tell us anything and yet we ask and expect other countries to help everytime we get in trouble? If we continue having this attitude – we are doomed.

What actual data do you want? Look around and you’ll see. Don’t tell me that those establishments throughout MM, Cebu, Davao, … survived by local patrons only. Besides does it make it better? No amount of data will convince you because if you don’t see what is in front of you (the big elephant) - how can you see it in a data?

Before we put this interesting discussion to rest, let’s take a brief moment to reflect on what it really demonstrated:

Some Philippine government officials remain hyper-sensitive to any perceived criticism from the US;

The nationalist card seems to retain some stock among the easily swayed;

There is a sizable amount of anti-Black racism lurking around;

Some Fil-Ams are quick to stereotype American hicks as perverts but won’t touch the delicate subject of relatively wealthy balikbayans visiting to get their perv on;

The enormous number of Pinoys who pay for pleasure aren’t worth discussing publicly, because the naughty foreigners stand out more and are easier to attack;

The news media should not be expected to engage in much actual reporting or analysis. Simple stenography of the “he-said, she said” variety will suffice;

And, there’s lots of money at stake.

So there you have it. Nothing to see here. Go about your business. Have a nice day.

Wag mong sisihin ang iyong sarili.

Well, Forest Gump is stupid but he succeeded in life.
Stupid people like me speak from the heart, no reservation, no motivation, no hypocrisy.
Just remember, listen to the dull, ignorant and stupid, they too have stories, like me.

No one in the Philippines should be offended by Harry Thomas’s remarks re: prostitution in the Philippines. Consider the source – the guy is a moron! Harry Thomas is largely shunned by the diplomatic community in Manila; he is an idiot of the nth degree. Every time he opens his mouth, garbage spews out. He is an embarrassment to the USA and his appointment is a slap in the face for all decent Filipinos. He should look in the mirror before slamming Filipinos, to wit: the average age of most black girls in the USA that get involved in prostitution is at 14-years and the median age of involvement is 15.5-years; for young women age 15-19, black teens are most likely to become pregnant (134 per 1,000 women); and, two thirds of black families in the USA have no father (they git im pregnant, then split). Harry Thomas ought to clean his own house before disparaging others. As I said: a moron without equal among diplomats…………………….

No one in the Philippines should be offended by Harry Thomas’s remarks re: prostitution in the Philippines. Consider the source – the guy is a moron! Harry Thomas is largely shunned by the diplomatic community in Manila; he is an idiot of the nth degree. Every time he opens his mouth, garbage spews out. He is an embarrassment to the USA and his appointment is a slap in the face for all decent Filipinos. He should look in the mirror before slamming Filipinos, to wit: the average age of most black girls in the USA that get involved in prostitution is at 14-years and the median age of involvement is 15.5-years; for young women age 15-19, black teens are most likely to become pregnant (134 per 1,000 women); and, two thirds of black families in the USA have no father (they git im pregnant, then split). Harry Thomas ought to clean his own house before disparaging others. As I said: a moron without equal among diplomats…………………….

Get real about the arrogance. At least they know right from wrong and they can afford to be arrogant. When you get to the the level of sophistication the USA here, then maybe you can be arrogant and not act like you know everything no matter what.

At his level, it’s only proper to have something to back-up his statement.  He said 40% so he needs to prove it  with ….. duh…. actual data?.  Like I said, I didn’t say he lied…..  He’s just stupid to say it like that… Who needs convincing anyway?

Thomas knows best because he always look for sex in Manila. He is a product of what he’s saying.

I think the Ambassador was being diplomatic when he quoted 40%. Can you imagine if he really tells the real story it can go up as high as 60-70%. I am sure many of you (deniers) will jump off the bridge by then – from more anger. He is in a no-win situation regarding 40% figure. You will question how he got them anyway. However, the most important point he made was: Prostitution establishments are being protected by corrupt officials – nobody seemed to be angered nor surprised by this statement – which I think is the more daming for our governement/and the people.  I think the good Ambassador has figured that we are a hopeless case and an immature society. Observe, from now on, he will only flatter us ad infinatum. I pity the Philippines. We apparently have a blind spot and when a true friend point it out for us, we bit his nose instead.

I think you are the bigger moron for missing his point – a tth degree moron perhaps. He did not criticize the Filipinos because of prostitution. He encouraged the judges to go after the corrupt government officials that are protecting these prostitution establishments which victimize and abuse women and girls. These establishments have flourished and mushroomed because of government officials’ protection.

Even PH government refused to make public apology to the next kin of family who loved ones lost their lives needlessly in the Manila Hostage Killing.. which is far worst than thomas remark made. At least he has to balls to apologise unlike PH government who has no balls, to make even a formal apology .. A formal apology/statement better than none…

Admit it, Philippine politicians are questioning the ambassador’s comments not because they are untrue but because what he said might cause foreigners to avoid coming to the Philippines thereby reducing the inflow of dollars.. But don’t worry, those “good tourists” who come here for legitimate reasons might be replaced by more foreigners who go to the Philippines for sex.

WAKE UP or rather BE HONEST DOT. Do not sacrifice Philippine women for SEX Dollars.
Kudos to Ambassador Thomas for his honest comment.
Ambassador Thomas NEED NOT APOLOGIZE apologize for his comments for several reasons:
1. HIS COMMENT IS TRUE. The Philippines is unfortunately one of top ranked countries in human trafficking especially the exploitation of the Filipino women. Read this link: http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/-depth/10/07/11/philippine-sex-tourism-bared-leaked-us-cables#comment-102499
2. The ambassador’s intent was to get the Philippine government and those countries like the US, Japan and Korea to do something to get rid of this scourge on Filipino women.
3. Filipinos have a COLONIAL MENTALITY. Filipinos look up to any foreigner and give in to any thing that a foreigner would want.
4. The so-called “wife for a week” exists in the Philippines and is exploited by foreigners especially those from Arab countries.
5. Ask any foreigner who goes to the Philippines and they will tell you frankly that when they set foot on Philippine soil, they can have any number of women to service them as they want.
6. Filipinos equate submissiveness and colonial mentality with being hospitable.
7. Filipinos are always self-praising so any sweet talk by foreigners is welcome.
8. Any Filipino who criticizes Ambassador Thomas’ remarks is either stupid, ignorant or publicity-hungry.
LET US LAUD THE AMBASSADOR FOR HIS HONEST AND WELL-INTENTIONED REMARKS. Indeed my guess is that more than 60% of tourists who go to the Philippines go there for sex. SEX is like a commodity that many Philippine women readily give.

there is prostitution everywhere bangkok singapore korea japan latin america europe africa united states etc.
here it is even advertised on newspapers as massage service escort service, on chat tv, on the internet as dating service, on the streets as ktv beerhouse massage parlors etc. there is a beerhouse or club no farther than 30 minutes from WHEREVER you live or work.  if you live in a poor community you would have prostitute neighbors driven by poverty and ignorance and exploited by others to fall into that life. 

I respect this Ambassador. The problem here was he did not realise that he was in the position to comment those words…if you are a representative of a government, you should be very careful with saying your opinions even how honest and true can they be… a lesson to be learned to the learned people.

By the way, sobra naman…diplomatic protest? Hahahah. This country is full of foolish monkeys if it gets its way. Please, konting dignidad naman. Too trivial an issue …ito namang senador na baluktot ang isipan, pwede ba tumigil ka na lang.

dapat magpasalamat tayo at kahit papaano sa atin napupunta ang pera sa sex tourism.. mas lalong hihirap ang bayan natin kung lumipat sa thailand ang mga dayuhan

You are correct that he was in a no-win situation on that 40%…. sadly so are you with your real story of 60-70%. However, you are not an ambassador to The Philippines so I guess there no need for you to provide anything to support your reality.

 The sex tourism pronouncement  faux pas of Ambassador Thomas, is going to degrade his status as a diplomat.

He will suffer the indignity of being ostracized by the diplomatic community for committing such a grievous blunder.

What is the German word for enjoyment of the present predicament  of somebody like Thomas?

Observe  Ambassador Liu Jianchao. 

I could not agree with you more.

truth hurts…kayong mga lolongs alam nyo yan noon pa pero hindi nyo binigyan ng pansin dahil wala naman kayong alternative na kabuhayang maibibigay…kaya nag-kaganyan ang mga iyan dahil laki ng inyong PORK-B plus Kurakot-C kaya napaka-easy money di ba?…

Given the circumstance, the so-called “negligence” of the officials in Manila were inadvertent, not deliberate to let lives lost and taken by maniacal ex-police officer. Amb. Thomas, though I like him a lot. has lost his guard in pronouncing the truth, although 40% is debatable but I still have to be assured that a male tourist does not seek sex when they come in. My estimate is 96% of them, perhaps not their primary objectve in coming here but definitely it is one of the items in their plate.
 

..we need to accept Thomas apology…he meant well and is just trying to stress his point…need to agree with Ulipur that it is overboard…most males from develop countries will not go to Phils for sex..i think they are getting enough of it (and why not)…and too scared to bring home disease to their families…let’s give the guest benefits of the doubt…they are just there to explore, hang out and have fun…to think beyond this is overboard…hey…there is no shortage of pretty, decent beauties from where they came from..let us just offer them wholesome entertainment…that’s what they usually care about…

well said eorlando….a true friend will stab you in the front…not in the back…over heard from an american president.

Di naman kasi totoo sinabi nya na 40%. Tantya ko mga 55%.

U.S. Ambassador Harry Thomas has apologized for his sex tourism remarks. At least he realizes his fault. Kung di niya ginawa yun, baka binalatan na siya ng buhay ng mga Pinoy.

Harry Thomas don’t want to get booted from his post kasi marami siya mga lalaki dito sa Pinas. That’s what I know.

That should serve as a lesson for Ambassador Thomas. Hindi siya dapat nagpapaniwala sa mga katulad ni De Lima na mahilig manguryente ng mga information.

But apologizing is not adequate. It’s better for Harry Thomas to pack his bag and go back to US. Tsupi Thomas, tsupi!

Incidence like this is a clear show of disrespect.As the saying goes, you can catch the fish by it’s mouth. it only show how little we Filipinos are in the eyes of the Americans..So please don’t be  fooled by Harry’s Jollibee eating show. And stop being hypocrites, prostitution is all over the world. In Europe prostitutes  accepts credit card payments, in other Asian countries they advertise it, so what the heck?…Pinay just do it better..and with passion…

Buti pa nga si Amb. Thomas, tumutulong sa mga anti-human trafficking campaign. e iyong mga buwaya sa gobyerno, may ginagawang bang tulong. wala!!!

The truth hurts ! talaga naman totoo yung sinasabi ng Amb. Ano naman ang pinunta dito ng turista ? yung traffic sa city ? smokey mountain ? wow men ! get real! proud na proud nga tayong mga pinoy na tayo ay lahing magaganda at mga guapo, tapos pag marami ang tumutikim at nagpapatikim nagagalit tayo.pag pumunta ka nga sa ibang bansa ang gusto mo ring matikman ay yung lahi din nila.

What’s the big deal—The ambassador is just telling it as he sees it. Other countries have legalized prostitution and it’s just a fact of life.  Are we so precious that we would think that what he said would tarnish the countrys image?  Are we to believe these male tourists are here at their own peril because of the sights and sounds and beaches? Maybe shopping? You must be kidding!!
Thousands of Filipinas are working as sex workers overseas and thousands more slave as domestics to survive and not a word from these ‘ image-conscious’ politicians and bishops. That alone is far more ‘offensive and demeaning to the nation’ than what the ambassador said. Get a reality check.

Statistics on prostitutes and customers

One 1990 study estimated the annual prevalence of full-time
equivalent prostitutes in the United States to be 23 per 100,000
population based on a capture–recapture study of prostitutes found in
Colorado Springs, CO, police and sexually transmitted diseases clinic
records between 1970 and 1988.

Among voluntary substance abuse program participants, 41.4% of women
and 11.2% of men reported selling prostitution services during the last
year (March 2008).

In New Jersey, 57 percent of prostitutes are HIV-positive, and in Atlanta, 12 percent of prostitutes are HIV-positive.

A 2004 TNS poll reported 15 percent of all men have paid for sex and 30 percent of single men over age 30 have paid for sex.

Over 200 men answered ads placed in Chicago area sex service
classifieds for in depth interviews. Of these self-admitted “johns”, 83%
view buying sex as a form of addiction, 57% suspect that the women they
paid were abused as children, and 40% said they are usually intoxicated
when they purchase sex.

The prostitution trade in the United States is estimated to generate $14 billion a year.

Why apologize through something as informal as a text message? So it is not an official apology? Therefore his earlier demeaning statement is still the official stand of the US?

eh di dapat mag apologize din ang mga MILITANTENG GRUPO ng walang sawang nagra-rally sa harap ng embahada ng estados unidos?

ambassadors are realy persons of dignity and propriety as they represent their country. ambassador thomas is no exception. he meant what he said that why should he apologize for his sex comments on foreign visitors. for him to retract is simply unbelievable.

there are rumors going around that foreign affairs secretary del rosario sent the text message to himself. It is beyond Mr. Thomas dignity to eat the humle pie. He is not that kind of a person.