BI: Another sex offender denied entry to PH
Anthony Collins, a Briton convicted for child pornography in England, was denied entry to the Philippines on October 14, 2023. Photo from the Bureau of Immigration
MANILA, Philippines — Another registered sex offender (RSO) was barred from entering the Philippines, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported.
The bureau identified Anthony Collins on Tuesday, a Briton convicted of child pornography in his country.
“Interpol’s national central bureau (NCB) in Manila, Collins was convicted on May 27 last year by a court in Manchester, England for voyeurism and taking indecent photographs of two 16-year-old children,” the BI said in a press release.
The BI noted that Collins was denied entry into the Ninoy Aquino International Airport upon arriving in Kuwait on October 14.
The bureau said they were alerted by the Philippine Center for Transnational Crime about Collins’ impending arrival in Manila, prompting Commissioner Norman Tansingco to issue a lookout order for the RSO.
Collins was immediately booked on the first available flight back to his place of origin, the BI said. He was also placed on the bureau’s list of undesirable aliens.
Based on the Philippine Immigration Act, RSOs are prohibited from entering the country.
The bureau also reported that there are already more than 130 foreign sex offenders intercepted from entering the Philippines since January 2023.
This October, a Hawaiian RSO, likewise convicted for child pornography, was also intercepted by the bureau.
The BI Chief warned against RSO aliens to avoid traveling in the country as they will most likely be denied entry by the immigration officers in the airports.
“We have established a working arrangement with the different foreign missions in Manila who regularly provide us with the names of their nationals who have been convicted of sex crimes in their country,” Tansingco said in a statement.
