DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: Good morning to the members of the Malacañang Press Corps.
Upon the invitation of His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and First Lady Louise Araneta-Marcos will undertake a state visit to Cambodia from the 7th to the 9th of September. The President and the First Lady will be received by Senate President Hun Sen on behalf of His Majesty. The state visit reciprocates the official visit to the Philippines of Prime Minister Hun Manet in February 2025 and will be the first state visit to Cambodia in almost nine years.
Upon his arrival, the President will meet the Filipino community in Cambodia, most of whom are professionals in the education and service sectors and honor their contributions to Philippine and Cambodian society. The President will then meet with Senate President Hun Sen and Prime Minister Hun Manet. Apart from reinforcing the longstanding people-to-people ties with Cambodia, the visit of the President is also anchored on key objectives namely: to diversity trade and economic relations, to strengthen cooperation in addressing transnational crimes, and to seek support for the Philippines chairmanship of ASEAN in 2026.
During the visit, the President will also hold a roundtable meeting with Filipino and Cambodian business leaders to further strengthen trade and investment relations between our countries.
The visit is expected to result in agreements and initiatives that will expand cooperation and bring tangible benefits to both Filipinos and Cambodians. It will further affirm the Philippines’ dedication to advancing its bilateral interests and connectivity with Cambodia.
Thank you.
MARICEL HALILI/TV5: Good morning, ma’am. Ma’am, may we know what particular agreements do we expect to be signed and how many agreements?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: There are agreements on combating transnational crimes, higher education and air services.
MARICEL HALILI/TV5: Three agreements.
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: So far, three po ‘no.
MARICEL HALILI/TV5: And, may we know kung sinu-sino po iyong kasama sa delegasyon ng Pangulo?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: The President will be joined by the following Cabinet officials: Secretary of Foreign Affairs Maria Theresa Lazaro, Secretary of Agriculture Francisco Tiu-Laurel Jr., Secretary of Trade and Industry Maria Cristina Aldeguer-Roque, Secretary of Migrant Workers Hans Leo Cacdac, Commission on Higher Education Chairperson Shirley Agrupis and, of course, PCO Acting Secretary Dave Gomez.
JOB MANAHAN/ABS-CBN: Hello po. Good morning, ma’am. Ma’am, gaano ka-important itong state visit na ito given na this is the first time in nine years?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: Well, very important. Nabanggit ko nga kanina ang three key objectives ng state visit na ito. Una is to expand economic cooperation, meaning, bilateral and intra-ASEAN trade. Second is iyong strengthening cooperation in addressing transnational crimes, at kasama diyan ang human trafficking. And finally, we want to seek support for the Philippines’ chairmanship of ASEAN in 2026.
JOB MANAHAN/ABS-CBN: Just a follow-up. Iyong mga issues po ba on scam hub sa Cambodia and, at the same time, iyong state po ng ilang Filipinos there na sabihin natin siguro ay wala pang mga legal or hindi sila doon nagtatrabaho legally, madi-discuss din po ba ito?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: Yes, yes, dahil importante iyan sa Pilipinas. We expect those issues to be discussed during the President’s bilateral meetings.
LETH NARCISO/DZRH: Good morning, ma’am. Mayroon pong business meeting si Pangulong Marcos sa mga business leaders doon. Ano naman po ang inaasahang mga investments?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: Well, we are hoping kasi na makapag-export tayo ng more Filipino products. We are looking at food, beverages, pharmaceutical products. We are also looking at franchising, iyong mga Filipino franchises doon. And we hope to have more Cambodian tourists coming to the Philippines and more Filipino tourists going to Cambodia.
IVY REYES/BILYONARYO: Hi, ma’am. Just a follow-up. What specific developments are we looking at when it comes to intra-ASEAN trade?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: Well, in general lang kasi, you know, we just want to see more Filipino products in our fellow ASEAN countries. That is really important. And also, we’re looking at possible investments, Philippine companies investing in Cambodia, but I cannot share the details at the moment.
CHRISTIAN YOSORES/DZMM TELERADYO: Good morning, ma’am. You mentioned po na isa rin sa inaasahang agreement ay iyong combatting against transnational crimes. And last year po, naging center ng balita iyong mga Pinay na … for surrogacy ‘no. Kasama po kaya iyan sa mapag-uusapan? At ano iyong posible pong specific na mapagkakasunduan ng Cambodian-Philippines tungkol po doon?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: I cannot share the details of the agreement at the moment. But, yes, we can discuss—we expect that various forms of transnational crimes will be discussed. Iyong surrogates, na-pardon na sila earlier this year. And ito naman sa mga human trafficking victims, iyong mga nasa scamming operations in mainland Southeast Asia, there’s an increase for all of mainland Asia, hindi lang sa Cambodia so this is really important for the Philippines and we do expect this issue to be discussed in the bilateral meetings.
CHRISTIAN YOSORES/DZMM TELERADYO: Ma’am, ilan po ang population ng mga Pilipino sa Cambodia ngayon?
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: We have 7,500 Filipinos in Cambodia, most of them are professionals working in the education and service sectors.
MODERATOR: Any more questions? I think that’s the last question. Spokesperson Escalona, thank you.
DFA SPOKESPERSON ESCALONA: Thank you very much. Maraming salamat po.
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