IMMIGRATION Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado yesterday expressed alarm over the rising cases of Filipinas who fall prey to syndicates offering surrogacy jobs abroad as authorities recently intercepted another victim attempting to leave the country to work as a surrogate mother for a fee amounting to more than P500,000.
Viado said the 37-year-old victim was intercepted last October 15 at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 after attempting to board a Turkish Airlines flight to Batumi, Georgia.
The victim initially told officers of the BI’s Immigration Protection and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES) that she is a sales associate traveling to Georgia for business purposes.
However, Viado said 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 BI chief said.
The victim told authorities that a male recruiter contacted her via WhatsApp, offering P28,000 per month during pregnancy and a final payment of more than P500,000 after childbirth.
“The recruiter had enticed her with promises of covered medical treatments and other benefits, apart from covering her documentation and travel costs,” Viado said.
I-PROBES chief Mary Jane Hizon said the case represents a new type of human trafficking scheme, as she linked forced labor to surrogacy arrangements.
Hizon said that under the new scheme, female victims are initially offered favorable living conditions but ultimately face exploitation and abuse.
Hizon said the recent incident is the seventh case of surrogate mothers intercepted at the airport since January this year.
It can be recalled that earlier this month, Cambodian authorities rescued 20 Filipino women who were victimized by surrogacy syndicates. Surrogacy is prohibited in Cambodia.
Authorities said 13 of the 20 Filipino women were already pregnant when they were rescued by authorities.