Phnom Penh — The Philippine Embassy in Cambodia repatriated another 146 distressed Filipinos to Manila in an early morning flight on 28 May 2020. This is the second repatriation organized by the Embassy ever since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike the first repatriation on 18 April 2020 where the Department of Foreign Affairs chartered a plane, this repatriation took advantage of a special commercial flight mounted by Cambodia Angkor Air to bring home Filipinos adversely affected by the pandemic. This brings to 313 the number of Filipino repatriates from Cambodia.
The Cambodian government has not let its guards down and continued to implement measures to prevent a second wave of the pandemic taking place in the Kingdom. Schools and casinos remain closed, while operations of many garment factories have been suspended, primarily due to cancelled orders from abroad. These establishments are the main employers of the majority of Filipinos in Cambodia. Thus, the source of income of many Filipinos in Cambodia has been seriously impacted.
Ms. Myca Magnolia M. Fischer, Charge d’Affaires of the Philippine Embassy, said, “The Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh, like the other Philippine foreign service posts, is working tirelessly to assist the Filipino diaspora as they face the challenges brought about by this pandemic. We understand that our kababayans here in Cambodia, especially those working as teachers, garment factory workers, and casino employees have been badly hit and so we continue to rally resources to assist them.”
Ma. Yenesel Faith Jamantoc, who used to work as an ESL teacher in Preah Vihear province, was ecstatic when told that the DFA has approved her request to be repatriated. “Ang programang ito ay naging tulay upang makasama ko ulit ang aking mahal sa buhay lalo na sa panahon ngayon ng malawakang epedemyang COVID19 na nagdulot ng maraming mga bagay bagay. Naiyak talaga ako ng marinig ko na napasama ako sa listahan ng mga uuwi. Kasi ramdam ko kung gaano ako kasaya ng mga panahon na iyon. Naging napakabuti ng lahat ng mga staff ng Philippine Embassy sa Cambodia. Dahil po sa kanila ay napadali ang aming pag uwi pabalik sa Pinas lalo na hindi namin afford na bumili ng ticket. Well appreciated ko ang lahat ng mga hakbang na isinagawa para lamang matulungan ang mga nangangailangang makauwi. Muli, ay pinasasalamatan namin ang mga taong nagtaguyod at sumuporta sa programang ito.”
Jen, whose work as a CCTV Shift Manager in a casino was abruptly terminated, commended the Embassy for its responsiveness to the needs of the Filipino community in Cambodia. “Ito lang po ang sure way para makauwe kami sa Pinas.. saka malaking factor po na libre yung airfare lalo na po sa amin na nawalan ng work. Malaking bagay po na napagbigyan niyo yung hiling ng iba about accommodations. Mabilis po yung proseso ng Embassy. Magandang idea din po yung may sariling groupings with Embassy representatives.” END
