THOMAS FORMALLY APOLOGIZES FOR 'SEX TOURISM' REMARK

United States Ambassador to the Philippines Harry Thomas, Jr. has formally apologized to Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Leila De Lima for his declaration that 40% or 4 out of every 10 foreign male tourists who come to the Philippines come here for "sex tourism."

In a one-page letter to De Lima dated October 11, 2011 that was obtained by ABS-CBN News, Thomas expressed deep regret for issuing the statement without any factual basis during his speech at a recent roundtable discussion on Combating Human Trafficking in the Philippines with the Philippine Judicial Academy, Court of Appeals (CA), and the US Department of Justice Criminal Division.