The Philippine government announced on Sunday ( Dec. 29 ) that Cambodia has pardoned and sent home 13 Philippine women who were jailed over a scheme to become surrogate mothers, an outlawed practice.
They were one of 24 foreign women who were detained by Thai police in September and were found guilty and given four-year prison sentences on December 2 for attempted cross-border human trafficking.
The people” and three of their children” were taken to a federal sanctuary for trafficking victims and sent home early on Sunday, according to a declaration from the Social Welfare Department.
Ten of the deported people are still female, Irene Dumlao, the Social Welfare Department’s Assistant Secretary told AFP.
Following the offer of a royal pardon by His Majesty Preah Bat Samdech Preah Boromneath Norodom Sihamoni, all 13 people left Phnom Penh and arrived in Manila properly, according to a separate speech from the Philippine foreign government.
The 13-year-old had the “intention” to have infants to offer to a third person in exchange for money, which is a form of human trafficking, according to the Thai court’s decision.
The court provided no information regarding what may transpire to the children.
Surrogacy is prohibited in Cambodia, according to a declaration from the Philippine foreign ministry, and any violation thereof is punished under Thai laws.
There is no law in the Philippines that would prohibit or permit infertility, according to a statement from the social welfare ministry, creating a legal grey area vulnerable to abuse.
After neighboring Thailand pulled the plug on the business the past year, Cambodia issued a tear restrictions on commercial surrogacy in 2016, putting an abrupt end to a growing industry for enthusiastic parents, some from Australia and the United States.
However, Cambodian companies continue to offer the services and China eased its one-child policy, which has kept the demand for business infertility high.
According to sources in the country, couples who are primarily from China are willing to spend between US$ 40, 000 and US$ 100, 000 to surrogacy agents to find a Thai lady who may have their child.