The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has expressed alarm over the rising number of sex offenders attempting to enter the country, saying Thursday that more 150 foreigners listed as registered sex offenders (RSOs) have been barred entry since January this year.
In the past few days alone, four such foreigners were refused entry by the bureau, according to BI commissioner Norman Tansingco.
Barred were Francisco Narvios Tecson, Dale Lloyd Bayless, and John Tomas Minor, all US citizens, and British national Derek Gordon Heggie.
Tecson was intercepted upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 aboard an Eva Air flight after finding he was convicted of sexually molesting a child in the US 13 years ago.
Records also showed that Bayless was convicted in 1990 of sodomy for an offense in 1989 against a 9-year-old female victim in Neosho, Missouri.
“The foreigners are excludable for being convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude as provided in our Philippine immigration act,” the BI chief added.
Information received from the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) that the four foreigners planned to travel to the Philippines prompted Tansingco to issue a directive alerting BI officers in all ports of entry on their possible arrival.
Tansingco said the increase in the number of RSOs attempting to enter the country is a cause for concern.
“During the pandemic, there was an increase of online exploitation of women and children. When international travel resumed, the number of RSOs rose, which could show that the exploitation is being continued,” he added.
On Tuesday, the BI barred a convicted American sex offender and an alleged Turkish fraudster.
The two were identified as American Michael David Steinborn, 57, and Turkey national Amol Awasthi, 48, who were turned away on separate occasions upon their arrival at the NAIA 3 terminal.
Steinborn was denied entry upon arriving aboard a United Airlines flight from San Francisco, while Awasthi was intercepted after he arrived via an Emirates flight from the United Arab Emirates.
Steinborn was reportedly convicted in Kissimmee, Florida in 1994 for indecent exposure and is considered as a Tier 1 offender.
Awasthi is the subject of an Interpol blue notice issued last year in connection with a criminal investigation against him for alleged involvement in transactions that defrauded the Indian government.
Indian authorities suspected that Awasthi and his cohorts conspired to cheat the Indian government by importing fertilizers and other products at inflated prices and claiming government subsidies thereafter.
Awasthi and his accomplices were also accused of profiting from illegal commissions earned from the sale of overpriced fertilizers and raw materials and siphoning said commissions to their relatives and companies registered abroad.
Both Steinborn and Awasthi were booked and boarded on the next available flight to their port of origin following their exclusion.