20 Pinoys saved from traffickers

CASE BUILDUP The Department of Justice will go after those who sent 20 Filipino women to Cambodia to serve as surrogates. —Inquirer photo

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Thursday that it would work on building a case against the people behind the alleged trafficking of 20 Filipino women in Cambodia, who were being exploited as surrogate mothers.

The Philippine embassy in Phnom Penh earlier reported that the Cambodian National Police rescued the 20 women, 13 of them in various stages of pregnancy, in Kandal province on Sept. 23.

Speaking to reporters online, Assistant Justice Secretary Jose Dominic Clavano said the 13 pregnant women had been taken to a local hospital, while the other seven were awaiting repatriation.

Clavano said that the DOJ-led Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking was coordinating with the Department of Foreign Affairs for the victims’ repatriation.

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“We want to ensure that they are repatriated immediately so we can interview them, they can execute their affidavits and we can proceed with the case buildup,” he said.

Online recruiter

Based on preliminary interviews, the Philippine Embassy in Cambodia said these women were recruited online by an individual whose identity and nationality are unknown.

Clavano said that Cambodian authorities also confirmed that some traffickers involved in trafficking and sexual exploitation were apprehended during the same rescue operation last month.

According to the DOJ official, the perpetrators caught in Cambodia would likely face human trafficking charges there, as he also reported there were “indicators” of accomplices operating in the Philippines.

“They also have an antihuman trafficking law in Cambodia. They mentioned something equivalent to our antihuman trafficking law, and that’s what we will use in Cambodia if we decide to file there as well for those who were found there,” Clavano said.

Rare scheme

Simultaneously, there would also be a case buildup in the Philippines against individuals who may have assisted the syndicates in this “rare trafficking scheme,” he added.

Clavano noted that this was not the first time the DOJ has encountered such schemes, recalling an incident in October last year when a couple was offloaded by immigration agents who suspected they were potential victims of human trafficking, specifically related to a surrogate mother arrangement.

“During the interview, the woman said she was going to be a surrogate mother,” Clavano said. The woman’s testimony led immigration officials to stop the pair from leaving the country.