The Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) is providing temporary shelter to the 13 Filipinas, who became surrogate mothers in Cambodia and convicted by a local court since surrogacy is illegal in Southeast Asia.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian directed the agency’s field office in Metro Manila to render all forms of assistance under the Recovery and Reintegration Program for Trafficked Persons (RRPTP) to the mothers and three babies, who arrived on Sunday at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
Gatchalian noted that all repatriated individuals are entitled to government support, including transportation and temporary shelter through the DSWD residential facilities, since they are treated as “victims of trafficking.”
The DSWD serves as co-chairperson of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT).
Lawyer Elaine Fallarcuna, the DSWD Assistant Secretary for International Affairs who represents the agency in the IACAT, said temporary accommodation is already being prepared for the 13 mothers and the three babies.
“While the surrogate mothers are in temporary shelter, the DSWD will help them communicate with their families for their reintegration. The respective families of the surrogate mothers will also be assessed for the provision of the necessary services and intervention,” Fallarcuna said.
The victims arrived at the NAIA Terminal 1 at 4:50 a.m. on Sunday via Philippine Airlines. They were accompanied by a Cambodian doctor and a Filipino nurse.
The 13 Filipina mothers were among the 24 foreign women caught by Cambodian police in Kandal province in September and charged with attempted cross-border human trafficking.
