Sex offenders barred Phl entry
Hours after their admission was refused, both travelers were promptly returned to their ports of origin
Daily TribuneHours after their admission was refused, both travelers were promptly returned to their ports of origin
The Bureau of Immigration reported on Sunday that its operatives have intercepted two Americans who were previously been found guilty of sexually abusing youngsters in the United States last Friday.
In a report given to BI commissioner Norman Tansingco, the two passengers were identified as Mark David Scanlon and Richard Stuart Patterson, who arrived the country via separate flights at Mactan-Cebu International Airport and Ninoy Aquino International Airport, respectively.
According to the Bureau, Scanlon was intercepted after arriving at MCIA via an Eva Air flight from Taiwan, while Patterson was excluded upon arriving at NAIA Terminal via an Philippine Airlines flight from Los Angeles.
Hours after their admission was refused, both travelers were promptly returned to their ports of origin.
Information obtained by the BI revealed that in 2012, a court in Cook County, Illinois, convicted Scanlon on the charge of indecently soliciting a child over the internet, where the victim was 11 years of age.
Meanwhile, Patterson was convicted in Oregon in May 2011 on the charges of sexual abuse on the second degree and sodomy on the third degree, where the victims were 15 and 13 years old, respectively.
The BI chief expressed alarm over the unabated attempts by foreign sex offenders to enter the country.
"Exclusions of registered sex offenders by Immigration officers have almost become a daily trend and are not limited to Manila but can also be encountered in provincial airports such as Cebu," Tansingco said.
He added that the agency is worried that unscrupulous individuals may be promoting sex tourism.
"We will not allow that to happen. We are duty-bound to implement a provision in our immigration act that prohibits the entry of aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude. We will not allow the entry of these undesirable aliens to pose a threat to our women and children," Tansingco said.