A Letter

October 5,1999,Manila,Philippines.A decade ago today when I first set foot in America.I can still vividly recall the mob in front of the United States Embassy in Manila.Group of people who were manning the place to get a slot for a day's allotted hopefuls for very scarce number of Visas granted to applicants.

Me for one,was able to make into the first hundred people permitted to be interviewed
that day.But I was so unlucky not to get one and was turned down even before I was able to say something.

That experience made me more hopeful and resolved to try again.

This time I made a different approach.I wrote a letter addressed to the Ambassador and in it,explained clearly my intentions and telling him at the same time that his Consul had previously declined my application.

A week later,I was on my daily routine audit in Cebu when I heard the good news.
It was a phone call from our head office secretary asking me if I could return a call to the office of then ambassador Thomas Hubbard.

So I did call his office and bluntly replied that "I am still interested to travel."
He said come to the Embassy then.

In Two days time I was again inside the Embassy.

I was so amazed that the same consul who declined my application was there in an empty cubicle waiting for me.He too was amazed to see me for the
second time around.

He then started the conversation by asking me "how did I know about the Ambassador?".
I replied to him about several years ago when I was at Haribon Foundation. Being an auditor for the Ist Debt-for-nature swap program by USAID in
collaboration with Haribon.
Finally he said sorry and handed me a Ten year multiple entry Visa.

And the rest is history.

The story that I am sharing to you right now is my way of showing appreciation to a very respectable man who had crossed my path and
trusted me all along and showed his humility by reaching out and
answered my letter in my favor.

To the good Ambassador ,where ever you are,Thank you very much.