Phnom Penh, 12 December 2024 – Over 500 Filipinos gathered on 8 December 2024 for the celebration of International Migrants Day at the Philippine Embassy’s quarterly Pulong-Pulong sa Phnom Penh (4Ps) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

 

At the hybrid 4Ps attended by a record number of Filipino residents in the Kingdom, customized presentations were delivered by Philippine Ambassador Flerida Ann Camille P. Mayo who, in her Ulat sa Bayan, walked the audience through the Embassy's diplomatic, consular and community engagements in the past six months. For her part, Consul Laarni Zorayda S. Gandarosa provided updates and reminders on the Embassy’s consular and assistance-to-nationals services while Defense and Armed Forces Attaché Captain Leo C. Dimoc briefed the community on the work of the National Task Force to End Local Communist Armed Conflict (NTF-ELCAC) as well as the Embassy’s contingency plan.

 

Other attached agencies were also on site to explain their services. Ms. Marylou Bibanco of OWWA-Singapore discussed membership benefits while Mr. Christian Jan Oliveros of Pag-IBIG Fund Singapore spoke about savings and loan programs available to overseas Filipino workers. Labor Attaché Haney Lyn Siclot of Migrant Workers Office-Singapore also delivered a virtual presentation on the mandates of the Department of Migrant Workers.

The audience listened attentively to the presentations and actively participated in the Q&A forum that surfaced a host of labor-related concerns.

 

“Your unprecedented engagement in this celebration of International Migrants Day and our quarterly 4Ps aligns with the Philippines’ global leadership on migration issues as our government continues to champion migrant workers rights across the globe. We celebrate and thank each of you for raising awareness about migration issues and, together, we can help promote necessary support systems for Filipino communities around the world,” Ambassador Mayo emphasized.

 

The occasion culminated in a community-led Christmas program dubbed Paskong FUNalo which was presented by the Samahan ng mga Pilipino sa Cambodia (SAMAPI) with the support of the Philippine Embassy.

Highlights of the Christmas celebration included a Christmas choral contest, parol-making contest, and Christmas food cook-off that brought to the fore the creativity of Filipinos in Cambodia. END