The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said its officers at the airports barred from entering the country 49 foreign sex offenders during the first four months of the year.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the total number of alien sex offenders excluded from January to April is lower than the 64 passengers who were denied entry during the same period in 2023.
“This only shows that we are successful in our campaign to stop the entry of foreign sex offenders as it is deterring or discouraging other foreigners like them from coming here,” Tansingco said.
Earlier this year, the BI launched its Project #Shieldkids Campaign, urging information on possible sex predators that in the country or are attempting to enter the Philippines.
He observed that as a consequence of the BI’s intensified efforts to turn away these “unwanted aliens,” foreign pedophiles who had intended to travel to the Philippines have apparently changed their mind and decided to refrain from going to the country.
“These sex offenders and pedophiles have forums and chatgroups wherein they discuss places where they can victimize people,” said Tansingco. “We believe that the recent actions of the BI serves as a big deterrent in stopping the entry of these undesirables,” he added.
Tansingco assured that there will be no letup in the BI’s campaign against pedophiles as he stressed that the bureau is duty-bound to protect Filipino women and children foreign sex predators.
“If we do not turn them back, our women and children are exposed to serious risk as anyone of them could be their next victim,” the BI chief added.
Statistics bared that the bulk of the excluded aliens are registered sex offenders (RSOs), or those who have record of convictions for sex crimes in their country of origin.
The rest were either accused or were subjects of complaints for sex offenses by their victims, and were relayed to the BI as intelligence information from their respective governments.
Americans numbering 35 topped the list of the excluded sex offenders, followed by United Kingdom and Germany.
The Philippine immigration act expressly forbids the entry of aliens who have been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
