BABYMAKERS
SENATOR Risa Hontiveros filed a resolution urging the Senate to investigate the alarming cases of Filipino women being trafficked abroad to serve as surrogate mothers in an international infant-trafficking syndicate.
The resolution directs the Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations, and Gender Equality to conduct an inquiry into this disturbing development, with the aim of strengthening laws and enforcement measures to combat this form of trafficking.
The investigation comes in response to the discovery that 20 Filipino women were trafficked into Cambodia, where 13 of them became pregnant through artificial means, allegedly as part of a baby-selling operation.
The Cambodian police rescued the women, but many now face human trafficking charges. The remaining seven women were deported after being identified as immigration offenders.
In the resolution, Hontiveros emphasized that such trafficking schemes exploit women under the guise of legitimate employment abroad.
Citing Republic Act No. 10364, the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, she noted: “It shall be unlawful for any person…to recruit a person under the guise of domestic or overseas employment or training, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, or sexual exploitation.”
Hontiveros highlighted the urgency of investigating this trafficking syndicate, especially given the growing international dimension of the crime. She pointed to the UN Special Rapporteur’s Report on Surrogacy and the Sale of Children, which has identified the international surrogacy trade as increasingly exploitative.
The Department of Foreign Affairs has already issued public warnings regarding this new form of human trafficking, which targets Filipino women. The outbound trafficking of the 20 women was allegedly facilitated by a Philippine agency, raising serious concerns about “lapses in law enforcement” that need to be addressed.
Hontiveros underscored the need to investigate these trafficking practices and to amend existing laws to address reproductive labor and surrogacy.