Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) expressed concern on Wednesday over the alarming rise in cases of women being trafficked overseas for unlawful surrogacy.
In a statement, Viado revealed that another victim was intercepted while attempting to leave the country to be a surrogate mother for half a million pesos.
On 15 October, a 37-year-old woman was stopped by an immigration officer at Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 while about to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Batumi, Georgia.
According to the Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES), the woman initially claimed to be a sales associate on a business trip.
She was referred for secondary inspection, however, after inconsistencies in her statements were detected. During further questioning, she admitted she had been enlisted to be a surrogate mother in Georgia.
The woman said she was contacted on WhatsApp by a male recruiter who promised her P28,000 a month during her pregnancy and over P500,000 after she gave birth. She said she was lured by promises of paid medical care and reimbursement for travel and documentation expenses.
Mary Jane Hizon, chief of I-PROBES, said the case highlighted a troubling link between forced labor and surrogacy agreements, marking a new form of human trafficking.
Initially promised good living conditions, female victims often face abuse and exploitation.
Hizon said this was the seventh case of an intercepted surrogate mother at the airport, indicating a concerning trend of individuals being deceived into these situations.
Earlier this month, the Philippine government rescued 20 women who had been coerced into serving as surrogate mothers in Cambodia.
BI Commissioner Viado condemned the scheme, saying that exploiting women through coercion or misinformation to become surrogate mothers constituted human trafficking.
The intercepted woman was referred to the Interagency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) which will help her file a legal complaint against her recruiter.