The Bureau of Immigration (BI) reported that it barred 35 foreigners registered as sex offenders from entering the Philippines in 2020.
Immigration Chief Jaime Morente said in a statement that due to travel restrictions, the statistics for registered sex offenders (RSO) banned from visiting the country decreased by 125, from the 160 sex offenders reported in 2019.
Morente added that many RSOs are convicted pedophiles and charged for molesting minors. The Immigration Bureau was able to stop these RSO’s from entering the country by teaming up with foreign counterparts to add sexual predators in the BI’s blacklist.
Under the Philippine Immigration Act, foreigners convicted of offenses including moral turpitude or “an act or behavior that gravely violates the sentiment or accepted standard of the community” are banned from entering any port of the country.
“When encountered by our officers at the ports these sex offenders are immediately turned back and booked on the first available flight to their port of origin,” Morente said.
Morente promised to continue banning sex offenders in the country to protect Filipino women and children. Ronald dela Cruz