A full-blown investigation is being readied by the Department of Justice (DoJ) to determine the individuals responsible for the trafficking of 20 Filipino women to Cambodia to become surrogate mothers.

This was the assurance of DoJ spokesperson Jose Dominic Clavano who said the investigation would start once the victims are repatriated to the country from Cambodia where they were rescued by local authorities.

Clavano said, “We want to make sure they would be repatriated immediately so they can be interviewed and execute their affidavits and we can proceed with the case buildup.”

He said the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) will take the lead in gathering evidence and filing cases against individuals in the Philippines who helped the human trafficking syndicate.

The IACAT is the body mandated by law to coordinate and monitor the implementation of Republic Act 9208 or the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act (ATIP) of 2003 with the DoJ as the lead agency.

Clavano said there were individuals in the Philippines conspiring with syndicates and the government wants to make sure they are arrested and charged before the courts.

The DoJ spokesman branded the case as “meticulous and elaborate” but noted that this kind of trafficking scheme has been on the radar of authorities since October 2023 when a couple was offloaded on suspicion that they were victims of human trafficking.

Clavano said during interrogation the woman admitted that she was going to be a surrogate mother.

With this, seven individuals involved in the attempted trafficking were charged with violation of the ATIP Act of 2003, as well as kidnapping and serious illegal detention.

Clavano said this could be the reason trafficking syndicates changed their style of recruiting surrogate mothers.

“Now they do not mention to the women being recruited that they would become surrogate mothers. They are probably being offered other jobs but once they arrive at their destination they would be surprised as they would be turned into surrogate mothers whose babies are to be sold,” Clavano said.