Outgoing US envoy Kim bids farewell to Locsin

MANILA, Philippines — Outgoing US Ambassador to the Philippines Sung Kim paid a farewell call on Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr., the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said Tuesday.

Almost four years since Kim started his tour of duty in Manila, the US ambassador is set to leave the country to serve as Washington’s top diplomat in Indonesia.

During their meeting on Monday, Locsin thanked Kim for the latter’s commitment to strengthening the long-standing alliance between the Philippines and the United States.

The foreign affairs chief brought up the return of the Balangiga bells to the Diocese of Borongan, Eastern Samar, which happened during Kim’s stint in Manila.

Locsin also underscored the support given by the United States to the modernization program of the Armed Forces of the Philippines.

Manila’s top diplomat and the US envoy agreed to continue with planned future engagements that aim to “strengthen the already robust” ties between the two countries “through close cooperation in the areas of defense and security, economics and trade, and people-to-people links,” according to the DFA.

Last September 8, President Rodrigo Duterte conferred the Order of Sikatuna with the rank of Datu to Kim.

The Order of Sikatuna is an order of diplomatic merit conferred upon individuals who have rendered exceptional and meritorious services to the Republic of the Philippines. [ac]