The United States government has commended the Bureau of Immigration (BI) for preventing the entry of a large number of American registered sex offenders (RSOs) into the Philippines last year.
Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente disclosed that the BI was recently awarded a certificate of commendation by the US Embassy in Manila for registering the second highest number of excluded American RSOs throughout the world in 2018.
The highest number of intercepted RSOs was reportedly posted by Mexico, which is situated right below the US’ southwestern borders.
“I commend our officers deployed at our ports of entry for a job well done. Because of your vigilance and alertness, you were able to turn away these sex offenders to protect fellow Filipinos from possible exploitation,” Morente said in a statement.
The US embassy’s citation specifically commended the BI’s port operations division (POD) as well as the airport operations section (AOS), travel control and enforcement unit (TCEU), and border control and enforcement unit (BCIU), which are all under the POD, for successfully implementing the “Angel Watch” program in the country’s ports.