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Cristina Chi - Philstar.com
December 16, 2025 | 7:41pm
A Cambodian soldier stands on a truck carrying a Russian-made BM-21 rocket launcher travelling along a street in Oddar Meanchey province on July 25, 2025.
AFP / Tang Chhin Sothy
MANILA, Philippines — The Philippine government has evacuated at least 126 overseas Filipinos so far amid the ongoing clashes between the troops of Thailand and Cambodia, according to Manila's ambassador to Thailand.
These Filipinos were pre-emptively relocated "early" and were not caught up in the conflict, Ambassador Millicent Cruz-Paredes clarified in a briefing on Tuesday, December 16.
"Their situation is good. They are not in danger. They are not caught up or involved in the fighting," Cruz-Paredes said in Filipino.
The Cambodia-Thailand border conflict reignited in December and shattered a fragile peace agreement signed just weeks earlier.
The two Southeast Asian countries blame each other for escalating tensions over a decades-old territorial dispute dating back to ambiguous French colonial-era boundary demarcations from the early 1900s.
The two neighbors first clashed in July after Thai soldiers were injured by landmines along the disputed border, triggering airstrikes, artillery exchanges, and ground combat.
The fighting — the most severe since 2008 — only ended after United Staters President Donald Trump mediated a ceasefire also in July, followed by a comprehensive peace accord signed in Kuala Lumpur during the ASEAN summit in October.
That peace deal quickly unraveled as fighting restarted again. The recent violence erupted on December 7 with a brief 30-minute skirmish, with both sides accusing the other of firing first.
The evacuees are now scattered across multiple locations, the ambassador said. Some stayed in government facilities, while others went to private sector sites like gymnasiums and schools. Others are living with family and friends.
Thailand is home to around 40,000 Filipinos, with 70% to 80% working as teachers in English, science, math, and social studies, according to the ambassador. About 356 Filipinos live in the seven provinces bordering Cambodia.
The Philippine embassy, the ambassador said, has provided financial assistance to affected teachers who face a "no work, no pay" situation after classes were suspended in border provinces. They are also conducting a needs assessment through a survey form to determine what other support evacuees require.
"We are continuously consulting them on what else can be helped, aside from financial assistance," Cruz-Paredes said.
The ambassador said the embassy has no plans for a large-scale evacuation because the fighting remains confined to the border area. The rest of Thailand, including Bangkok, remains safe.
"We don't feel any danger here in Bangkok," Cruz-Paredes said, noting that Thailand is currently hosting the Southeast Asian Games through December 20, with several Filipino athletes competing in the tournament.
The embassy earlier issued a travel advisory barring Filipinos from visiting the affected border provinces but reiterated the rest of the country remains safe.
