BI: Increased number of sex offenders entering PH a cause for concern

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) said Thursday that the increased number of registered sex offenders (RSOs) entering the Philippines is “a cause for 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,” said Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco.

The BI on Thursday said it barred entry to more foreigners convicted of sex offenses from entering the country. 

According to Tansingco, 55-year-old Francisco Tecson was intercepted upon his arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 from Taiwan on Wednesday afternoon.

Tansingco said Tecson, like other foreigners who were prevented from entering the country, is an RSO. The bureau said he was convicted in Texas in 2010 for having indecent contact with an eight-year-old child.

“Thus, he is an excludable foreign passenger for being convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude as provided in our Philippine immigration act,” Tansingco said.

Meanwhile, 65-year-old Dale LloydBayless was also prevented from entering the Philippines on Wednesday evening by immigration officers.

According to BI records, Bayless was convicted in 1990 of sodomy for an offense against a nine-year-old girl in Missouri in 1989.

The BI said the two men are among the more than 150 foreign RSOs who have been refused entry in the Philippine’s airports since January.

Most of the RSOs were intercepted at NAIA while others were barred at the airports in Mactan, Cebu and Clark, Pampanga. —RF, GMA Integrated News