By Tony Chavez
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado expressed alarm over the rising cases of trafficking women for illegal surrogacy abroad.
Viado, in a statement, shared the interception of another victim attempting to leave the country to work as a surrogate mother for half a million Pesos.
The 37-year-old victim was intercepted last October 15 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 after attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Batumi, Georgia.
The BI’s immigration protection and border enforcement section (I-PROBES) reported that the victim initially presented as a sales associate traveling to Georgia for business purposes.
However, the primary inspection officer noticed discrepancies in her statements and referred her for a secondary inspection. During interviews, she confessed to being recruited as a surrogate mother for an unidentified client.
The victim admitted a male recruiter contacted her via WhatsApp, offering Php 28,000 per month during pregnancy and a final payment of more than Php 500,000 after childbirth. The recruiter had enticed her with promises of covered medical treatments and other benefits, apart from covering her documentation and travel costs.
I-PROBES Chief Mary Jane Hizon highlighted that this case represents a new type of human trafficking scheme, linking forced labor to surrogacy arrangements. Female victims are initially offered favorable living conditions but ultimately face exploitation and abuse.
She noted this is the eighth recorded case of surrogate mothers intercepted at the airports, showing a troubling trend of individuals being misled into these roles under pretenses.
It can be recalled that earlier this month, 20 Filipino women were rescued by Philippine authorities after being made to be surrogate mothers in Cambodia.
Commissioner Viado condemned the scheme and stated that the exploitation of surrogacy falls within the scope of human trafficking, as it coerces or deceives women into becoming surrogate mothers.
The intercepted victim was referred to the Inter-agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for assistance and filing of cases against her recruiters.
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