Your Excellency Ambassador Ok Socheat,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Friends:

Allow me to thank you all for joining us to bid farewell to our good friend, His Excellency Ambassador Ok Socheat.

Excellency, on behalf of the Philippine government and the Filipino people, I extend my sincere appreciation for your dedication and efforts in enhancing Philippine-Cambodia bilateral relations.

Despite your Excellency’s relatively short stint in the Philippines, our countries’ relations grew even healthier and more meaningful than before. Our increasing relations in trade are perhaps the clearest manifestation of this positive development.

Even before 1957, when diplomatic relations between the Philippines and Cambodia formally opened, our countries have had the opportunity to engage one another in a mutually beneficial way. History is rife with accounts to prove this point. In the 17th century, emissaries from the Kingdom of Cambodia came to the Spanish-ruled Philippine islands to trade.  In return, the Philippines obtained timber from Cambodia to build the Spanish galleons and frigates.

Forward this to January 1956, when then-Prince Norodom Sihanouk, accompanied by his queen and other Cambodian officials, arrived in Manila and a wave of nostalgic memories came rushing back.  Then-Prince Sihanouk recalled that his great-grandfather, King Norodom I, in 1868 became enamored by a calumpit beauty, who went by the name of Josefa Manio Roxas, and proposed marriage.  Fate had other plans though.

I am also strongly reminded that in this particular visit, a distinguished Filipino-Cambodian by the name of Sambon Fernandez was among those dignitaries who accompanied the prince.  He was then the President of the Royal Court of Cambodia----the equivalent of the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines. Sambon Fernandez later became a member of the Cambodian Cabinet, the Minister of National Defense, and the General of the Army.

These instances just demonstrate to us that bonds have long existed between the Philippines and Cambodia. Suffice it to say that 1957 was plainly a formality to express our countries’ desire to walk along the same path of beneficial co-existence in this region.

We further crystallized this desire when, in August 2000, our countries signed an agreement to establish the joint commission for bilateral cooperation. I only hope that this mechanism will truly lead to fruition that will encourage our countries to exceed the bounds of mere regional neighbors. The possibilities for cooperation range far and wide when we begin to consider the application of the bilateral mechanism.

Excellency, in the course of your assignment in the Philippines, we have witnessed significant events that have promoted friendship and trust between our two countries.

In 2005, the Ministry of Labor entered into a labor pact with its Philippine counterpart, the Department of Labor and Employment, to ensure that workers from both countries are protected from abuse and substandard labor conditions.  Under your Excellency’s watch, we have witnessed the preparations for the forging of a “Twin City” agreement between Bacolod City and Siem Reap City.   Of late, we have been made aware that throgh the efforts of your excellency, Cambodia will be importing about 400,000 metric tons of rice from the Philippines.

I trust that upon these we can build stronger relations---a more durable relationship that can withstand the torrential winds of global politics and the vagaries of a different world order.  It is only through sincere cooperation and utmost desire to help one another for a common good that our countries wll be able to stay the course.

Our shared experiences and endeavors beckon us to see with unfettered minds our relations not just in terms of diplomacy, trade, or the formal trappings of international affairs. they inform us not too subtly to view our ties more on a personal level, much like a brother to another.

Before I end, allow me to take this opportunity to thank, once more, the Royal Government of Cambodia, for being one of the first to commiserate with the Filipino people in the wake of the terrible landslide in Southern Leyte. That event devastated us. But with the moral support we got from your Excellency’s government, the suffering was alleviated. Indeed, Cambodia’s support was a balm that soothed our wounds.

I also express my most profound gratitude for Cambodia’s full support for the candidature of the Philippines for membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council. It is a clear demonstration of goodwill and confidence, which a fellow ASEAN member can give. The Philippines shall never fail the Cambodian people, who have reposed their complete trust in the Filipinos’ ability to uphold universal human rights.  We pledge that your vote will not go to waste.

On this note of friendship and cooperation, I invite Your Excellency, distinguished guests, and friends to toast:

· to the good health and success of His Excellency Ok Socheat;
· to the continued peace and prosperity of Cambodia; and
· to the enduring friendship of the Filipino and Cambodia people.

MABUHAY! END