49 foreign sex offenders barred from entering PH in Jan-April

Forty-nine foreign sex offenders were prevented from entering the Philippines in the first four months of 2024, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said on Saturday.

This figure is lower compared to 64 foreigners in the same period (January to April) in 2023.

Of the 49 foreign sex offenders, 35 were Americans, followed by citizens of the United Kingdom and Germany. 

''Statistics bared that the bulk of the excluded aliens are registered sex offenders, or those who have a record of convictions for sex crimes in their country of origin,'' the BI said.

''The rest were either accused or were subjects of complaints for sex offenses by their victims, and were relayed to the BI as intelligence information from their respective governments,'' it added. 

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said ''sex offenders and pedophiles have forums and chat groups wherein they discuss places where they can victimize people.''

“We believe that the recent actions of the BI serve as a big deterrent to stopping the entry of these undesirables,” he added.

''If we do not turn them back, our women and children are exposed to serious risk, as anyone of them could be their next victim.'' —Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News