Phnom Penh, Cambodia –The Ambassador of the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh, Kingdom of Cambodia, Her Excellency, Flerida Ann Camille P. Mayo gracefully opened the 'Pulong-Pulong sa Phnom Penh' (4Ps) activity at the Novotel Phnom Penh Hotel yesterday, 30 March 2025. Warmly acknowledged were various participating Philippine National Government Agencies (NGAs), including the Professional Regulation Commission (PRC).

During the meeting proper, H.E. Ambassador Mayo shared that the 4Ps which started in 2005 has been actively and continuously held every 3 months. During her 'Ulat sa Bayan' (USB), H.E. Ambassador Mayo emphasized the significant role of the Philippine Embassy, serving as the country’s first line of defense in foreign lands, where all aspects of national issues are being handled with full diplomacy. She added that the good diplomatic relationship between the Kingdom of Cambodia and the Republic of the Philippines provides for the sustainability of the parties' mutual interests. She also proudly reported the result of the 11-12 February 2025 Courtesy Meeting of the Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia with H.E. President Ferdinand E. Marcos, Jr. where eight (8) Bilateral Agreements for various concerned sectors was signed. Likewise, the Ambassador mentioned that Filipino engineers were sincerely lauded for its contributions in building Cambodia’s new international airport which will open in July 2025.

As one of the pillars of the Philippine Foreign Policy is to improve the welfare of Filipino Overseas Workers (OFWs), H.E. Ambassador Mayo admitted that this pillar cannot be fulfilled solely by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) and the concerned embassies. A great need for the whole-of-government and One-Country-Team-Approach (OCTA) thus, the conduct of the 16th Multi-Agency Service Mission (MASM) is necessary, she added.

Through today’s 4Ps, Hon. Erwin M. Enad, as the lead PRC delegate to the 16th MASM, introduced to the Filipino Community in Cambodia the PRC mandates which include regulation and supervision of the licensure examination, registration, and the practice of the forty-six (46) professions. He further shared that currently, there are already 5,648,727 PRC registered professionals with 3,415,255 professionals having active licenses. 

Commissioner Enad further conveyed to the participants the top five (5) professions in Cambodia which are: professional teachers, followed by nurses, criminologists, civil engineers, and certified public accountants.

As the Pulong Pulong continues, he shared that Taiwan is now included as the newest testing center for the conduct of the 2025 Special Professional Licensure Examination (SPLE). The possibility of including Cambodia as one of the Testing Centers for future SPLEs for Professional Teachers was also considered as this will be beneficial to the examinees, minimizing their expenses in travelling from Cambodia to Thailand, a regular SPLE testing center, to take the said licensure exam.

"We are here not only to provide services but to further discuss future engagements with the Filipino Community, through the Philippine Embassy, to improve our services", as he conveyed the PRC's interest in establishing Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications (MRPQ) to ensure professional development and mobility of all Filipino professionals in Cambodia.

The 4Ps continued with the discussion and updates on the government services from the Philippine Statistics Office, Pag-IBIG Fund, Philhealth, National Bureau of Investigation, Bureau of Immigration, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration – Singapore, and the Department of Migrant Workers. 

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