MANILA, Philippines — Seven of the 20 Filipino women recruited as surrogate mothers in Cambodia were repatriated to the Philippines on Oct. 23, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
“These women, aged 20 to 30, were recruited abroad to work as surrogate mothers for unknown clients,” the BI said in a statement on Saturday.
Three of the women left the Philippines under the pretense of visiting relatives but were “deceived” by false promises related to surrogacy, the BI said.
READ: BI stops surrogate mother-recruit from leaving PH
The remaining four had no official immigration records, “indicating they likely exited through unauthorized means,” it added.
The Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh previously reported that the seven women were among those rescued by the Cambodian National Police on Sept. 23, after being exploited as surrogate mothers in Kandal Province.
The other 13 women remain in Cambodia, where they are in various stages of pregnancy and will face trafficking charges, according to Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty.
The repatriation of the seven women happened just days after immigration officers intercepted a 37-year-old woman recruited for surrogacy and preparing to depart for Georgia (in Eastern Europe) on Oct. 15.
Authorities discovered that she had been recruited to work as a surrogate mother for a payment of half a million pesos.
According to a report by the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section, the woman, who initially identified herself as a sales associate, claimed she was traveling to Georgia for business purposes.
However, inconsistencies in her statement led primary inspection officers to refer her for secondary screening, where she eventually admitted to being recruited as a surrogate mother for an unidentified client.
The woman revealed that a male recruiter had contacted her via WhatsApp, offering P28,000 per month during her pregnancy, with a final payment of at least P500,000 upon childbirth.
“The recruiter had enticed her with promises of covered medical treatments and other benefits, as well as covering her documentation and travel costs,” the BI said.
The victim has been referred to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking for assistance, and cases are being prepared against her recruiters.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Viado noted that investigations have revealed a typical scheme in which traffickers recruit women online, then arrange complex travel routes through multiple borders to avoid detection.