Phl arrests South African fugitive

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Saturday said it has arrested a South African national wanted in Kenya for sexual assault, following a joint law enforcement operation in Mandaue City.

Operatives from BI’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU), in coordination with the Intelligence Division’s Regional Intelligence Operations Unit 7 (RIOU-7), apprehended 42-year-old Michael James Noble Ballantine, also known as Michael James Ballantine, on 18 March along P.J. Burgos Street.

Ballantine is the subject of an Interpol Red Notice over charges of sexual assault and compelled indecent acts under Kenya’s Sexual Offences Act of 2006.

The BI received information through the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime indicating that the suspect is wanted by Kenyan authorities for alleged incidents in August 2024, where he reportedly assaulted victims inside his vehicle.

A Kenyan court issued a warrant for his arrest in September 2024, followed by the issuance of a Red Notice in October after he fled.

Immigration records showed that Ballantine entered the Philippines in December 2024 as a temporary visitor but had overstayed since his authorized stay expired in 2025. He had also been placed on the blacklist and watchlist orders that same year for being an undesirable alien and a fugitive from justice.

The BI said the suspect was intercepted after filing an application at its Cebu District Office.

BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado reiterated the government’s firm stance against harboring foreign fugitives.