Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco underscored the need for an enhanced information sharing among the governments of other countries to prevent the entry of foreign fugitives to the Philippines.
"No foreign fugitive should find refuge in the Philippines,” Tansingco said in a statement on Thursday, May 2.
He pointed out the neef for enhanced cooperation with foreign governments after Sen. Sherwin “Win” Gatchalian raised concerns that foreign fugitives have been involved with Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs).
"If we had been provided with information about their criminal records in a timely manner, we could have barred their entry into the Philippines from the outset," Tansingco said.
He pointed out that a review of all foreign fugitives arrested in recent raids of illegal online gaming establishments showed that those apprehended were “identified as fugitives by their governments months or even years after their entry into the country.”
He cited that the BI “receives timely information from the United States government on registered sex offenders, facilitating their interception at ports of entry.”
“The BI's centralized database of derogatory records, linked with Interpol (International Criminal Police Organization), enhances our capacity to intercept individuals with Interpol hits,” the BI said.
Citing records, BI said that in 2023 the bureau “excluded a total of 3,359 foreign nationals with 39 of them intercepted after registering a hit on the Interpol’s database.”
“Additionally, 170 persons who were previously convicted of sex crimes have also been stopped entry after their governments forwarded timely information to BI, which led to their interception,” it cited.