Pinoys in Cambodia make good as managers

Patricia Esteves


PHNOM PENH — Here in Cambodia, Filipinos enjoy first-class treatment and top managerial jobs.
Take the case of Annie Rivera, the revered general manager of the Somadevi resort in Siem Reap, home to the Angkor Wat, Cambodia’s top tourist destination.
It has been seven years since Annie tried her luck here, not to pursue greener pastures but to get a different perspective after her husband died in 2000.
Annie has always had an affinity with Cambodians. In the ‘80s, she worked for the International Catholic Migration Commission (ICMC), a US-based NGO group that oversees the welfare of refugees from Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam who fled Cambodia during the four-year civil war (1975-79) under the communist Khmer Rouge led by Pol Pot.
The Khmer Rouge forced all city dwellers into the countryside and to labor camps and during their rule, some two million Cambodians died by starvation, torture or execution. Cambodia is still trying to recover economically and socially from the wounds of the past.
Annie recounted that when she came here in 2007, she immediately looked for a job and found one in a day.
With a background in teaching, Annie first applied as an English teacher. On her 10th month here, she applied in a hotel and became the events and marketing director.
It was in the hotel industry that she found her niche.
Although she doesn’t have a background in business, Rivera tried her best to learn the ropes of the trade.
After working for Holiday, she moved to Casa Hotel and stayed there for two years. She later transferred to Monorich in 2004 until 2006.
In October last year, she moved to Somadevi Hotel to assume the post of general manager.
Somadevi resort is located in the picturesque province of Siem Reap, a famous tourist spot where the sublime Buddhist temples, which date back to the early 12th century like the famous Angkor Wat, are located.
Aside from being a general manager, Annie is also a businesswoman and has put up her own souvenir shop, Rivan’s pleasures in Siem Reap.
Annie is just one of the hundreds of Filipinos in Cambodia who continue to get managerial jobs and high salaries.
“The Filipinos here are listed as A1 among expats, they are considered first- class citizens. All the Filipinos they hire here are professionals. Filipinos can speak English and teach English and they are offered salaries starting from $5 to $10 per hour up,” Annie said.
According to government estimates, there are around 1,000 Pinoys working in Cambodia. Many are engineers, hotel and restaurant managers, chefs, cooks and English teachers.
Filipinos are respected in Cambodia because they are hardworking and they speak English well, according to Annie.
“Filipinos are hardworking and go beyond the job responsibility. We Filipinos here try to reach for the best,” she said.
Job prospects
News that Filipinos don’t always land good jobs or receive high pay in Cambodia has not deterred Pinoys from trying their luck here.
In 2005, Charge d’ Affaires (CDA) Dinno Oblena of the Philipppine Embassy in Phnom Penh reported to the Department of Foreign Affairs that there has been no announcement or advertisement from the Cambodian education sector for large-scale demand opportunities to work in Cambodia.
CDA Oblena said the demand for Filipino teachers and the promise of high- paying jobs in Cambodia is just a perception.
Forty-one-year-old Jomari “Joms” Cruz decided to take a chance. Jomari first heard from his cousin about good job prospects in Cambodia and so he decided to come here in November last year as a tourist.
Jomari, like other tourists here, took advantage of the 21-day visa-free policy of the country. When the visa expires, Filipinos obtain another visa at the Cambodian Department of Immigration.
A single father, Jomari worked at a tetra pack company in the Philippines for almost a decade but was earning very little that he could barely make both ends meet.
Positive feedback about work prospects in Cambodia finally prompted him to venture here though he admitted waiting for months to get a job.
“ I didn’t easily find a job. It took me four months to find a job. I scoured for vacancies in the local papers while I stayed in my cousin’s place. In February of this year, I finally got accepted at a dental clinic,” Cruz said.
For his first job, Jomari was hired as a branch manager of Pachem Dental clinic. He takes care of the needs of the staff, oversees the finance and sales of the company and sees to it that the company’s policies are implemented.
As a branch manager, Jomari got a starting monthly salary of $450 plus benefits.
Not bad, he says, compared to what he was getting in the Philippines. Jomari also gets to moonlight in a travel agency here.
“I’ve stayed with a company for 10 years and nothing happened. At least here, I get to earn a starting salary that is bigger than what I used to earn in the Philippines,” Jomari said.
He recounted being skeptical at first when he heard from his cousin that Filipinos are getting top managerial jobs in Cambodia, but he saw and experienced it himself.
“There are no Filipino domestic helpers here, all start at managerial level,” Jomari said.
Gentle locals
Like many Filipinos here, Jomari and Annie love the conducive working environment and the gentle and peace-loving locals.
The rustic scenery is also a come-on.
Jomari said Cambodia is just like a province in the Philippines.
Annie, for her part, said she has a soft spot for Cambodian people. She feels absolutely at home in Cambodia.
“This is my seventh year already. I love this country, this is my second home,” she said.
“Cambodians have a very special place in my heart because they were the poorest among the refugees I worked with when I was with an NGO. I was closest to them. Back then, I told myself I’d like to find a way to visit Cambodia,” Annie added.
Like Annie, Malik (not his real name) works in Cambodia not only because of the high pay and the perks of the job, but because of his good relationship with the gentle and peace-loving Cambodians.
“They are kind and peace-loving, very mild-mannered. It’s nice to work with them,” Malik said.
Malik has been working as operations restaurant manager at Palm’s Café for four and half years now.
He sees himself staying in Cambodia in the years to come. He said that one incentive of the company that he particularly loves is an all-expense paid vacation to the Philippines aside from other allowances.
Like Jomari and Malik, Annie sees herself and other Filipinos to be still working here in the next few years.
“Why not when we like the country, the people and we are treated very well here by the locals?” Annie said.