The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported that two more Americans were barred from entering the country at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for being convicted sex offenders.
In a statement, Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the two passengers were recently turned back upon their arrival at the NAIA terminal 1.
One of them was identified as Joseph Sami Sallaj, 30, who arrived last Friday from Taipei, while the other one is Eduardo Ison Balenbin, 72, who came on Saturday from San Francisco.
“They were immediately sent back to their port of origin and placed in our blacklist to prevent them from entering the country should they attempt to return in the future,” Tansingco said.
The BI chief reiterated that the country’s immigration law expressly forbids the entry of aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude as their presence here pose a serious threat to Filipino women and children.
“We cannot allow our country to be a hub for sex tourism. Foreign pedophiles are not welcome here, thus they will be turned away the moment they step on our airports,” he added.
Information supplied by the US government disclosed that Sallaj was convicted in December 2012 by a court in Tennessee for the crime of sexual battery wherein the victim is a 12-year-old child.
On the other hand, Balenbin was reportedly convicted by a California court in May 2007 after being found guilty of engaging in lewd and lascivious acts with a child.
Both Sallaj and Balenbin are registered sex offenders (RSOs) in their respective states thus their activities are continuously monitored by authorities even after they have served their sentences.
