Former US ambassador to Phl to wed his Pinay girlfriend

MANILA, Philippines - Former US Ambassador to the Philippines Harry K. Thomas will tie the knot with his Filipina sweetheart Mithi Aquino at a private ceremony on Saturday, March 15 (US Time), at the Church of the Blessed Sacrament on the Upper West Side in Manhattan (NYC).

“Fr. Freddy Balinong, a popular Fil-Am priest, will officiate the ceremony to be attended by select friends and relatives,” said Funfare’s Big Apple correspondent Edmund Silvestre in his exclusive report.

Thomas, who moved back to the US late last year following a three-year tour of duty in Manila, is currently on sabbatical as diplomat-in-residence at Arizona State University, teaching a course on sustainable economics, added Edmund.

Mithi Aquino (no relation to President Benigno Aquino III) is a human resources executive who lectures, recruits and trains Filipino employees in the hospitality industry for international cruise liners. She grew up in Jolo in Mindanao and studied at the Manila Central University in Caloocan City. She is the daughter of Ret. Col. Dan Aquino and Dr. Zenaida Inciong Aquino, a pediatrician.

Thomas said his stay in the Philippines where he learned Tagalog and the joy of eating Filipino food like balut, sinigang and crispy pata, was made more memorable when his fiancee’s parents accepted him wholeheartedly.

“I am very blessed to be accepted by the entire Aquino family. Nanay (mother) and Tatay (father) are very nice to me,” the beloved American diplomat said in one interview. “I am blessed to know Mithi and I am blessed to be accepted by all the members of the Aquino family and by all the Filipinos.”

Both Thomas and Mithi were previously married; he has a daughter, and she has an 18-year-old son and a 16-year-old daughter. 

Mithi’s parents recently underwent hip replacement surgery in Manila and won’t be able to travel for the wedding. The bride will be walked down the aisle by New York-based businesswoman and philanthropist Lin Bildner, who, along with his daughter Angela, organized the wedding in less than three weeks.

“Mithi is like a daughter to me,” Lin confided. “She and Angela are very good friends. Harry and Mithi are two wonderful and accomplished human beings meant for each other.”

Cocktails and reception will follow at the upscale Lotos Club, a 144-year old literary private club on 66th Street, off Fifth Avenue. Some 70 guests are expected.