Government agencies are cracking down on a new trafficking scheme where Filipinas are coerced into surrogacy, the Justice Department said in a statement on Friday, Oct. 11.
The agency said it has monitored reports of “vulnerable Filipinas being misled and exploited as surrogate mothers abroad since October 2023.”
It noted that the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking, through the NAIA Task Force Against Trafficking, earlier requested the National Bureau of Investigation to look into a case involving passengers possibly trafficked for surrogacy.
“Under Philippine law, trafficking of persons includes the recruitment, transportation, or harboring of persons by means of force, fraud, or deception for the purpose of exploitation. The use of vulnerable women in surrogate arrangements for financial gain, particularly when they are coerced or misled, falls squarely under this definition,” the DOJ said.
Earlier, Cambodian police rescued 20 Filipinas allegedly trafficked into its borders. Thirteen of them were found pregnant through artificial means and may face human trafficking-related charges, while the others were identified as immigration offenders for deportation.
“We view this practice as a form of modern-day slavery and exploitation. We are closely investigating these incidents to determine whether these women can be classified as victims of human trafficking,” the DOJ said.
It added it is working closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs and other agencies to provide protection and assistance to the victims.
Senator Risa Hontiveros, chairperson of the Senate committee on women, children, family relations, and gender equality on Thursday filed a resolution seeking to investigate what she calls “infant trafficking scheme.”
She said the victims were supposedly recruited by a local agency online, highlighting the urgent need to identify lapses in law enforcement and strengthen laws to prevent the proliferation of this new form of human trafficking.
