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Woman charged in court for 'involvement in surrogacy scheme'

Philippines | National

Woman charged in court for 'involvement in surrogacy scheme'

By Jeffrey Damicog

A woman, who was arrested last October, has been charged in court for her alleged involvement in a scheme that recruits Filipinas to become surrogate mothers abroad, the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) said on Friday, Nov. 1.

The IACAT identified the woman as Freezle Mae R. Balondo who was charged with violations of Section 4(a) of Republic Act (RA) 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, as amended; and RA 10175, the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.

It said that "authorities allege that she was involved in recruiting and arranging the transportation of two (2) women to Thailand who were intercepted and offloaded by the Bureau of Immigration – Immigration, Protection, and Border Enforcement Section (I-PROBES)."

The I-PROBES subsequently referred the case to IACAT which endorsed it to the National Bureau of Investigation-Human Trafficking Division (NBI-HTRAD) for investigation.

“This case highlights the government’s continued commitment to combating trafficking in all forms, including the exploitation of women through surrogacy arrangements,” said the IACAT which is headed by the Department of Justice (DOJ).

At the same time, the IACAT said the two women are under investigation for alleged involvement in the surrogacy scheme. They were identified as Joyce Mlang and Wensen Shen.

Mlang allegedly posted online advertisements for surrogate mothers and offered financial compensation ranging from $8,000 to $10,000, while Shen is reportedly linked to ML&MLANG International Surrogacy and suspected to be involved in the scheme.

Related Tags

DOJ National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) IACAT surrogacy

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