Baby trafficking syndicates in Cambodia recruiting Filipinos

MANILA, Philippines — Cambodian police have rescued 20 Filipino women who were allegedly trafficked into the country to be used as surrogate mothers in a baby trafficking ring.

Of the 20, at least 13 are pregnant and are currently receiving care at a local hospital, while the remaining seven are set to be repatriated, according to the Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh on Tuesday, October 8.

The embassy issued the statement in response to a report by the Cambodia-based Khmer Times on the same day that details the involvement of an unnamed Philippine agency in bringing Filipino women to Cambodia to serve as surrogate mothers, despite the country's ban on surrogacy. 

The 13 pregnant Filipino women confirmed that a Philippine agency, working with in vitro fertilization experts in Thailand, arranged their travel to Cambodia "with the ultimate goal of trafficking babies," according to the report.

Authorities' interviews of the 20 Filipino women revealed that they were recruited online by an individual who used an apparently "assumed name." 

Initially promised travel to another Southeast Asian country, the 20 Filipinos were instead sent to Cambodia. 

The identity and nationality of the recruiter has yet to be determined, the embassy said.

"The Embassy emphasizes that human trafficking is a transnational crime, and aside from the Filipino women, the involvement of other nationalities has been established," the embassy said.

"At the time of their rescue, the women were found to be under the care of a local 'nanny,' together with four other women from a neighboring country," it added. 

The plight of the 20 trafficked women reflects the alarming rise of online scams across Southeast Asia, where individuals are often lured with false promises of legitimate work, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Eduardo de Vega said in a televised briefing on Wednesday, October 9. 

While the department has assisted in the repatriation of several trafficked Filipinos in Cambodia, De Vega said this is the department's first time hearing about the use of surrogate mothers for such scams.

Cambodia banned surrogacy in 2016 but has yet to pass a law that criminalizes it.

"The problem, according to