Bureau of Immigration (BI) officers at the Clark International Airport (CIA) in Angeles City, Pampanga recently barred from entering the country two Americans who are convicted sex offenders in their country.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado identified the excluded passengers as Jeremy Paul Beazer, 45, and Michael Antonio Rios, 54, who were turned back when they arrived aboard separate flights of Eva Air from Taipei.
Beazer was intercepted when he arrived last April 4 while Rios while Rios was turned away on April 8.
Viado said the two were denied entry pursuant to a provision in the immigration act which forbids the entry of aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
“Our intention here is to prevent these convicted sexual predators from preying on our women and children, anyone of whom could be their next victim if we allow them to enter our country,” the BI chief stressed.
Records showed that in 2001 a US court convicted Beazer for the crime of carnal knowledge of a juvenile wherein the victim is under 12 years of age.
Nicaraguan-born Rios, on the other hand, was convicted in 1989 for sexual assault of a child.
Both Americans were immediately booked on the first available flight back to their port or origin after they were denied entry to the country.
They were subsequently placed in the immigration blacklist, effectively banning them from re-entering the Philippines.
