The Bureau of Immigration reported that an American national who was previously convicted for crimes against children in his country was denied entry to the country.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the passenger as Ronald Huy Young, a 54-year-old male, who was excluded on Sunday (1 October) after arriving at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 on board a Philippine Airlines flight PR101 from Honolulu, Hawaii.

Tansingco said that Young was denied entry by the BI officer at NAIA for a violation of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. Under the said law, foreign nationals who have been previously convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude are inadmissible in the country.

According to the Hawaii Criminal Justice Data Center records, Young pleaded guilty to first-degree electronic enticing of a child. He was listed on the state's sex registry and given a 10-year prison sentence by Hawaii's first circuit court in 2008.

The BI chief reiterated that aliens with records of sexual crimes are not welcome to the country.

Tansingco said that the law is very clear in its intent to protect Filipinos from foreigners who might be engaged in sex tourism and may prey upon the vulnerable. Any aliens with such criminal records are barred from entering the country.