US envoy cites sugar ties with Negros

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — United States Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr. underscored the continuing ties of his country with Negros Occidental in the sugar industry.

“Clearly the United States is very much involved in Negros because of its sugar industry and how much sugar it exports to the United States,” said Thomas who was in the city on Saturday to grace the 3rd Bacolod Jazz Festival.

“We are here to support the Bacolod Jazz Festival, which is a great testament to American and Filipino music and culture,” he said.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia, who hosted a welcome reception for Thomas at the Bacolod Government Center, briefed the ambassador on the potentials of Bacolod as an investment haven.

Leonardia told Thomas that Bacolod has been cited for its growth of information technology firms in the city, and that it had been named the Most Business-Friendly City by the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and as a growth center by the Asian Institute of Management and by the United States Agency for International Development.

Thomas also paid courtesy calls on Gov. Alfredo Marañon Jr. and other provincial officials at the Capitol who in turn gave the ambassador a gift of Negros delicacies.

At the reception, Leonardia and festival director Eli F. J. Tajanlangit, handed Thomas the official invitation of the city for him to be the guest of honor at the 33rd MassKara Festival in October this year.

The mayor also handed the ambassador the symbolic key to the city, saying the ambassador’s visit bolstered the stature of the city and the morale of its people.

Thomas, for his part, thanked the city officials for the warm welcome, promising them of his support.

It was Thomas’s second visit to Negros Occidental, the first of which was on November 12, 2010, when he inducted the new batch of Peace Corps volunteers assigned around the country.

Thomas assumed his post as US Ambassador to the Philippines on April 27, 2010.