BI's latest count: 140 foreign 'registered sex offenders' blocked entry to PH
Another American registered sex offender (RSO) has been barred entry to the Philippines.
The interception of Amercian Terry Lyn Spies, 60, at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) last Nov. 3 brought to 140, the number of foreign RSOs who had been blocked entry this year, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Thursday, Nov. 9
“As gatekeepers of the country, we are duty-bound as immigration officers to prevent the entry of aliens whose presence here poses a serious risk to our women and children,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco in a statement.
The 140 RSOs had been intercepted "pursuant to a provision in the Philippine Immigration Act which expressly prohibits the entry into the country of aliens previously convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude,” Tansignco said.
Citing a report from the BI’s Border Control and Enforcement Unit (BCIU) Deputy Chief for Operations Joseph Cuete, the bureau said that "Spies had been sent back to the United States last Nov. 4 via an Eva Air flight to Taipei enroute to the US.”
Prior to the arrival of Spies, the bureau said “Tansingco issued an alert order directing BI officers at the airports to prevent the entry of Spies if he is encountered and immediately book him on the first available flight to his port of origin.”
“Citing information provided by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Interpol’s (International Criminal Police Organization) National Central Bureau (NCB) in Manila disclosed that in November 2012 a court in Texas convicted Spies for engaging in online solicitation of a minor,” the BI disclosed.
“He allegedly enticed a 14-year-old girl to meet him for ‘indecent purposes via telecommunications’ in violation of Texas’ penal code,” it added.