US Ambassador Thomas visits DOJ chief De Lima

(Updated 3:17 p.m.) United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas Jr. paid Justice Secretary Leila de Lima a courtesy call on Wednesday noon. "It's just a discussion of certain areas where we could be of mutual help, especially in the mandate of the Department of Justice. The US keeps a close watch on our initiatives, and the work and mission of the department," De Lima told reporters after their closed-door meeting. For his part, Thomas said he congratuled De Lima for her exemplary work in improving the human rights condition in the Philippiens. De Lima, a veteran election lawyer, served as Commisson on Human Rights chair during the previous Arroyo administration. She was known for her independent and feisty stance against human rights violations in the country. Last year, GMANews.TV named her Public Servant of the Year. "We came here to congratulate her and tell her how much we admire her history as a fighter of human rights and justice. We will practice any way we can to assist her," Thomas later said. However, the US ambassador declined to say whether he and De Lima discussed the human trafficking problem in the Philippines. The Philippines is in danger of losing $250 million in aid from the US State Department if the prosecution of drug trafficking suspects would not improve by February next year. The country is ranked under Tier-2 status in international human trafficking. US President Barack Obama II appointed Thomas on November 19 last year. He is the first African-American US envoy to Manila. Thomas assumed his post last April. He replaced Kristie Ann Kenney, who was recently named US Ambassador to Thailand. Thomas served as director general of the US Foreign Service and director for human resources of the State Department. He served as a special assistant to the Secretary and Executive Secretary of the Department. He joined the Foreign Service in 1984 and served as US ambassador to Bangladesh from 2003 to 2005. He also served in the White House as the Director for South Asia at the National Security Council from 2001 to 2002. — Sophia Dedace/RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV