The Philippine government is pushing to get the surrogate babies of 13 Filipinas who have been convicted in Cambodia for violating its surrogacy ban and possibly place the infants for adoption, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Wednesday, Dec. 4.
“Malaking posibilidad na ‘pag na-uwi na natin ang mga bata sa Pilipinas ay irerefer natin sila sa DSWD at NACC upang tingnan ang mga posibilidad para sa mga batang ito (There’s a big chance that once the babies arrive in the Philippines, they will be referred to the Department of Social Welfare and Development and the National Authority for Child Care to determine what is possible for them),” DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix L. Ty told journalists.
“Pag-aaralan kung makakabuti sa mga batang ito na ipa-adopt sila sa ibang pamilya (We will study if it would be better to have the babies placed for adoption),” he revealed
On the other hand, Ty admitted “may timbang pa rin ‘yung kagustuhan ng nanay (the desires of the mother will still be given weight).”
He said that one of the Filipinas has given birth to twins.
In the meantime, Ty disclosed there are already informal talks between the Philippine and Combodian governments on what will happen with the babies.
Ty said “pinag-uusapan pa natin and kapalaran nila (we are still discussing the fate of the babies).”
“Ngunit nasabi na natin sa Cambodia ang posisyon ng pamahalaan natin na para sa atin ang mga batang ito ay mga Filipino dahil base sa batas natin ang babae na nagsilang sa isang bata siya ang ituturing na nanay ng bata (But we have told Cambodia the position of the Philippines that based on our laws the woman is considered the mother of child),” Ty noted as he pointed out that the baby will also get the Philippine citizenship of the mother.
During the talks, Ty revealed that the Combodian government said that the babies should be taken cared of and “ayaw nila mangyayari kung pakakawalan nila ‘yung mga bata sa atin ay ibigay sa nanay at maibenta ng nanay (they don’t want the children sold by their mothers once the babies have been turned over to the Philippines).”
He said the Cambodian government government had been told of the similar concerns about the mothers.
Ty explained that the Filipina mothers and their babies are not blood related since the women only received fertilized eggs that came from the parents from other nationalities.
He expressed doubt that the real parents would surface to claim their babies.
“Pero natitiyak ko na kung sakaling lumutang sila ay kakasuhan sila (But I assure if they do surface they will face charges),” he said.
The 13 Filipinas are among 20 Filipino women rescued in Cambodia by local authorities after being recruited and brought to the country to become surrogate mothers.
Though the seven of those rescued have been repatriated to the Philippines, the 13 Filipinas were recently convicted of violating the prohibition against surrogacy and were sentenced to imprisonment of four years.
However, Ty said “but two years were suspended” and, because of this, “two years na lang sentence ng mga Filipina na ito (the Filipinas will only be serving two years in prison).”
At the moment, Ty said no plans have been bared if an appeal will be sought for their conviction.
“Sa ngayon ang alam ko mukhang tatanggapin na natin yung hatol (At the moment I think we will accept the verdict),” he said.
The DOJ explained that the case carries a penalty of 15 to 20 years imprisonment.
“But ginawa ng abogado ang lahat para mapababa ang parusa (But the lawyer did what can be done to lower the penalty),” he also said.
Apart from this, Ty said the resolution of the case in court was expeditious.