Scores of registered sex offenders barred from the Philippines in 2018

sex offenders
People waiting to pass through immigration at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport. File photograph.

A total of 145 registered sex offenders were denied entry into the Philippines last year, the Bureau of Immigration has revealed.

According to BI spokeswoman Dana Sandoval today (Thursday, December 3), the majority of those turned away between January and November 2018 were Americans.

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“Statistics showed that 119 Americans topped the list of the intercepted RSOs [Registered Sex Offenders], followed by seven Australians and seven Britons,” she said.

In a report to Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, the BI’s Port Operations Division chief Grifton Medina said the figure was down on the record 165 foreign sex offenders barred from the country over the same time period in 2017.

He said that sex offenders intercepted at the airports were immediately turned away and booked on the first available flight to their ports of origin.

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“Our immigration law expressly provides for the exclusion of foreigners convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude. The Philippines is off limits to these sex offenders,” he said.

RSO refers to a convicted sex offender who has served a sentence or remains under probation or parole.

Sex offenders monitored

Most developed countries, including the US and Australia, maintain a sex offender registry that allows authorities to keep track of the activities and movement of perpetrators.

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For his part, Commissioner Morente assured that they would continue to be uncompromising in their campaign to ban the entry of foreign sex offenders into the country.

“These aliens pose a serious and real threat to Filipinos. We are trying to prevent women and children from being victimised by these convicted perverts, should they enter the country,” he said.

He also acknowledged the “unwavering assistance” extended to the BI by its counterparts abroad, such as Interpol, by providing them with information about sex offenders. 

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