BI sounds alarm on surge of sex offenders trying to enter PH
MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Thursday expressed concern over the arrival of sex offenders in the country which it said is becoming a “daily trend.”
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the increase of registered sex offenders (RSO) attempting to enter the country is a “cause of concern.”
“During the pandemic, there was an increase in online exploitation of women and children. When international travel resumed, the number of RSOs rose, which could show that the exploitation is being continued,” he said in a statement.
Tansingco earlier said that as the country reopens its borders, a resurgence of sex tourism, too, is possible.
The BI said that an RSO, identified as American Francisco Narvios Tecson, was intercepted at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) on Wednesday.
The BI said the foreigner was convicted in Texas in 2010 for having indecent contact with an eight-year-old girl.
After Tecson, the BI said another American RSO, identified as Dale Lloyd Bayless arrived at NAIA on the same evening.
Bayless was convicted in 1990 due to an offense in an act of sodomy against a nine-year-old girl in Missouri, the BI said.
The bureau noted that the aliens are just two of the over 150 foreign RSOs barred from entering the country since January. Most of them were intercepted at the Naia, while a few others were barred in Mactan, Cebu, and in Clark, Pampanga.
Over the past few weeks, the Bureau of Immigration has also been reporting RSO interception in different parts of the ports of the country.
Under the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude, such as sexual offenses, shall be denied entry to the country.
