MANILA – Thirteen Filipinas who were convicted in Cambodia for illegally acting as surrogate mothers have returned to the Philippines on Sunday after being granted a royal pardon.
According to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the pardon was granted by Cambodian King Norodom Sihamoni to the convicted Filipinas on December 26.
“Upon the request of the Philippine Embassy and with the endorsement of the Royal Government of Cambodia, the Royal Decree pardoning all 13 Filipinos paved the way for their release and immediate repatriation,” the DFA said in its statement.
The 13 Filipinas were convicted by a Cambodian court earlier this month for violation of Cambodia’s law on the Suppression of Human Trafficking. They were sentenced to four years in prison, with two years of the sentence suspended.
The Filipinas were among 24 foreign women whom the Cambodian police arrested in September and charged with attempted cross-border human trafficking.
Article 16 of Cambodia’s Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation had been used against surrogate mothers while a specific law penalizing surrogacy was being drafted.
“The Philippine Government thanks the Royal Government of Cambodia headed by Samdech Moha Borvor Thipadei Prime Minister Hun Manet for the humanitarian treatment extended to the Filipino mothers throughout the investigative and judicial processes in Cambodia,” the DFA said.
“Their safe homecoming is a testament to the longstanding friendly relations between the Philippines and Cambodia and the firm commitment of both governments to combat human trafficking and other transnational crimes,” it added./PN
