The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported the interception of four American individuals convicted of sex offenses who were prohibited from entering the country.

According to BI commissioner Atty. Joel Anthony Viado, the travelers were all stopped at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on different dates starting mid-September when they arrived and attempted to enter the country as tourists.

All four Americans were immediately excluded and boarded on the first available flight back to their ports of origin.

The BI chief explained that they were turned back pursuant to their immigration law, which provides for the outright exclusion of any foreign nationals who have been convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.

On 13 September, an immigration officer at NAIA Terminal 3 excluded the 70-year-old Terry Christ Petersen, who arrived in the country on-board via Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong.

Petersen was convicted in 1992 by a court in Wisconsin on a charge of sexual assault on second degree wherein the victim is a 12-year-old child.

Last 19 September, 71-year-old Richard Allison Boice was intercepted at NAIA Terminal 1 after he arrived from Tokyo, Japan, via a Japan Airlines flight. Boice was convicted in 2009 for possession of child pornography.

Another American identified as 56-year-old Kevin James Bearden was excluded by BI officers on 24 September at the NAIA Terminal 3 after arriving the country via Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong. Bearden was convicted in 2021 on two counts of child pornography.