Phnom Penh, 27 April 2025 - The Philippine Embassy embarked on an outreach mission to Battambang Province on 26-27 April 2025 to deliver on-site citizen services to Filipino communities in western Cambodia.

Filipinos in the locality availed themselves of services ranging from passport renewals, notarials, acknowledgments of employment contracts, Embassy registration, citizenship services as well as pre-enrollment and internet voting for the 2025 Philippine National Elections. 

In addition to the on-site services, two separate town hall meetings with Filipinos in Poipet and Battambang were conducted to strengthen the Embassy’s feedback loop through a face-to-face dialogue.

At the town hall meeting in Battambang, Philippine Ambassador H.E. Flerida Anne Camille P. Mayo introduced the Embassy’s diplomatic, consular, and community engagements. 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 contingency planning. 

Among the key topics of the town hall meetings was the rising number of Filipinos involved in online scamming activities. Ambassador Mayo urged the members of the community to be discerning and wary of deceptive job offers on social media and online messaging platforms. She enjoined them to help disseminate the Embassy’s important advisories and announcements to protect the Filipino community from illegal recruitment and human trafficking schemes.

The Filipino Community in Battambang thanked the Embassy for the outreach mission and for the responsive services rendered to them. “Thank you, Phil Embassy Cambodia. It was a big help for us that you've been here. Hope to see you again here in Battambang City,” Ms. Eugenia B. Francisco shared as feedback.

Situated in the northwestern part of Cambodia, approximately 290 kilometers away from Phnom Penh, Battambang is home to overseas Filipinos working mainly in the gaming and education industries, plus a sizable number of missionaries. The citizen services mission was made possible with the support of the Office of Undersecretary for Migration Affairs (OUMA) and the Commission on Election’s Office for Overseas Voting. END