MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has stopped a 31-year-old Filipino woman from leaving the country after she was allegedly intercepted while attempting to travel to Georgia to become a gestational surrogate mother.

In a statement on Saturday, the BI said the woman was set to board a flight to Hong Kong on March 30 but was flagged during immigration inspection at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1.

She initially told officers she was a returning overseas Filipino worker (OFW) who would work as a domestic helper in Hong Kong. However, further verification showed she was allegedly bound for Beijing, China, before proceeding to Tbilisi, Georgia.

Authorities said the woman admitted she was recruited through a social media message and was promised a payout of P490,000 after childbirth. She also presented a letter from a Georgian-German surrogacy facility where she was allegedly set to undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF).

“Our officers manning the counters are strongly committed to intercepting suspicious departures linked to trafficking schemes,” said BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado.

The woman was turned over to the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) for further assistance and case evaluation.