Pinoys shine in Phnom Penh [Are there really 6,000 Filipino workers in Cambodia? Wonder why there is no works for Cambodians!]

Posted by Online
Tempo.com.ph
Apr 3rd, 2012

PHNOM PENH — Members of the 6,000-strong Filipino community shine as leaders, volunteers, and entrepreneurs in this Cambodian capital city and being looked up to by the locals here as well as the international community.

Philippine Ambassador to Cambodia Noe A. Wong attests to the good stature of the Filipino workers here, saying that most of the Filipinos “are gainfully employed, not as domestic helper compared to other countries”.

He even boasted that the embassy is not so much preoccupied with attending to concerns of Filipinos working and staying in Cambodia compared to other countries which have dismal records of treating overseas workers.

“We have so many success stories here. Cambodia is one of the countries that we don’t have much problem as far as the OFWs are concerned unlike in other embassies like in Middle East, and Hongkong,” he said.

“So, it is a reflection of how well-off or gainfully employed the Filipinos here. They work in the garments industry, casinos, hotels and restaurants and banks. In casino, they are not card dealers, but they are supervisors of particular sectors like they head the food and beverage industry. It’s a managerial supervisory function. In the garments industry, they are not seamstresses, they supervise a group of Cambodian garment workers, so there’s a lot of difference,” Wong said.

He added that Filipinos in Cambodia act as managers, supervisors and even heads of some non-government organizations. While, some are working with the international groups like United Nations Childrens’ Fund (UNICEF), and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and even Jesuit religious groups, while others work in banks.

He even cited that there are 400 Filipinos in Cambodia who teach English at international schools.

“Because the trend here in Cambodia now is for them to learn English. Maybe it’s a global phenomenon that almost everybody wants to learn this because of the globalization,” the country’s envoy said.

“Nakakataba ng puso pag sinabing, “oh, we’re proud of Filipinos here. They’re well respected by both Cambodian at saka ng international community,” Wong enthused.

He disclosed that there are about 6,000 Filipinos in Cambodia, 2,000 of whom live in Phnom Penh and work in various fields in medicine, business, and non-government organizations (NGOs).

Wong disclosed that there a total of 3,497 Filipinos officially registered in the Philippine embassy in Phnom Penh while those who are employed in the border of Thailand, Cambodia or Vietnam remain undocumented.

“Human resource, to me that’s one basic quality that makes us maybe a little bit above some other ASEAN people, plus our caring attitude, how we deal with fellow person and, of course, our language proficiency. Once you know how to be fluent in English, it’s a real advantage. So, those are some qualities but, of course, talagang yung human resources natin is one thing that really makes us different, it makes a difference,” he said.

DIRECT FLIGHT
PHNOM PENH — Ambassador Wong expressed confidence that the taking off of the “maiden” Manila-Siem Reap direct flight this month would boost the tourism and investment relations between the Philippines and Cambodia.

He said the scheduled direct flight, which will start on April 19, was agreed upon by both countries during the first meeting of the Philippines-Cambodia Joint Commission for Bilateral Cooperation (JCBC), which was held in this Cambodian capital city last December 8.

“A very, very concrete result out of that JCBC is direct flight because, you know, we don’t have a direct flight ever since from Manila or from the Philippines to Cambodia. So, because of the special air services agreement, Cebu Pacific will start its maiden flight from Manila to Siem Reap this April 19,” he said in an interview.

Under the special air services agreement between Cambodia and Philippines, Cebu Pacific will have three flights a week — Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday. Cebu Pacific will be the only Philippine airline that will be operating flights between the Southeast Asian countries.

The northwestern Cambodian capital city of Siem Reap houses the centuries-old Angkor Wat, the Cambodia’s prime tourist attraction which was declared as a UNESCO World Heritage Site being the world’s largest single religious monument. (Charissa M.Luci)