4 sex offenders barred NAIA entry

Four foreigners found guilty of sex crimes in their home countries have been apprehended by the Bureau of Immigration officials at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the four passengers — two Americans, a German, and an Australian — were immediately excluded upon their arrival at NAIA Terminals 1 and 3.

The Australian was identified as Romeo Monje, 89, who arrived on 12 March via a Philippine Airlines flight from Sydney.

According to reports, Monje was found guilty of eight counts of indecent assault in Australia, even though the victim was just 16 years old. After receiving information about Monje’s travels to the Philippines from its Australian counterpart, Interpol’s National Central Office in Manila notified the Bureau about his imminent arrival.

Meanwhile, the American nationals were identified as Sherman Elliot Douglas, 64, and John Kenneth Hayes, 48. They arrived in the country via an Eva Air flight from Taipei on 14 March and 15 March, respectively.

According to the BI Border Control and Intelligence Unit, Hayes was found guilty in 1998 of sexual assault and indecent assault against a 16-year-old victim by a Florida court.

Douglas, however, was found guilty in 2020 of third-degree sexual exploitation of a minor, according to US public records.

On 18 March, a German national, Ralf Bultschnieder, attempted to enter the country at NAIA Terminal 3 on board a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul.

BI officials at NAIA Terminal 3 stopped Bultschnieder after obtaining an intelligence report regarding his potential involvement in acts and activities of exploitation.

All four of them were put on the immigration blacklist of undesirable aliens permanently barred from entering the country as a result of their exclusion.