By Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Wednesday the offsprings of the 13 trafficked Filipina women convicted in Cambodia for violating the surrogacy ban in the country will be considered Filipino nationals.
The 13 – in various stages of pregnancy – have been detained since Sept. 23 at a designated medical facility in Cambodia.
Speaking to reporters, Justice Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty said one of the women has given birth and one is pregnant with twins.
“Most likely, magkakaron tayo ng 14 na sanggol. Ang mga bata na to, pinaguusapan pa natin ang magiging kapalaran nila ngunit nasabi na natin sa Cambodia ang posisyon ng pamahalaan natin na para sa atin, ang mga batang ito ay mga Pilipino, dahil base sa batas natin, ang babae na nagsilang ng isang bata, siya ang ituturing na nanay ng bata (Most likely, we will have 14 infants. We are still determining their fate but we have already informed Cambodia of our government’s position that these infants are Filipinos, because based on our laws, the woman who gave birth to the child is considered the mother of the child),” Ty said.
He said there may be some challenges to this because the baby’s DNA is not the same as the surrogate mother’s.
“Pero ang mga batas natin sa ngayon ay di pa talaga nafa-factor in yung ganitong mga technology, yung surrogacy technology. Kaya sa batas natin, simple lang. Kung sinong babae nagsilang sa bata, siya ang nanay ng bata. Susundin ang nationality niya (But our present laws have not yet factored in these technologies, the surrogacy technology. So, in our law, it’s simple. The woman who gave birth to the child is the child’s mother. The child will follow her nationality),” Ty said.
Meanwhile, the DOJ official said the two-year sentence imposed on the 13 Filipinas was the best concession that the Philippine government has gotten from the Cambodian government, considering that the violation of the ban on surrogacy in Cambodia carries a maximum penalty of 15 years to 20 years.
They were tried by a Cambodian court on Nov. 28 to 29 for their participation in a surrogacy scheme and were found guilty of violating Cambodia’s 2008 Law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation by the Kandal Provincial Court on Dec. 2.
The Philippine Embassy in Phnom Penh assured that the government will continue to provide them with appropriate and necessary support, including legal and consular assistance, for the duration of their stay in Cambodia.
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) first confirmed in October the rescue of 20 Filipino women who were reportedly brought by a Philippine agency to become surrogate mothers in Cambodia.
Seven of them were repatriated while 13 remained at a local hospital.
Based on preliminary interviews, the recruitment of these 20 women was made online by an individual whose identity and nationality have yet to be determined.
The recruiter with an apparently assumed name arranged for the women to travel to another Southeast Asian country but eventually sent them to Cambodia where surrogacy is banned. (PNA)
