Immigration bureau: Registered sex offenders barred from entering PHL

[Dean_De 61]

Foreigners who are registered sex offenders in their home countries will be denied entry to the Philippines as they are deemed a threat to public safety, the Bureau of Immigration said Thursday.

In a statement, Immigration chief Siegfred Mison said any alien found to be in the registry of sex offenders will be issued an order to leave.

On the other hand, registered sex offenders who managed to enter the Philippines will be "ordered to leave within 15 days," and their names will be included on the Immigration blacklist.

Among the sex offenders recently arrested in the Philippines are:

• American Robert Snyder, 67, who was arrested in Dumaguete City last May 17 by BI agents and US law enforcers. Snyder had been a fugitive for 10 years in connection with a sex assault case. He has been deported.
• five fugitives accused of rape and child molestation in their homeland were deported simultaneously by BI after their passports were revoked by authorities last February.

Mison said that if the foreign registered sex offender holds a visa other than a temporary visitor visa, the legal division shall commence forfeiture proceedings against him or her.

The visa forfeiture order shall include the order to leave with blacklisting.

Should the alien registered sex offender fail to comply with the order to leave, the BI legal division will initiate deportation proceedings.

"The BI shall ensure that the relevant immigration information of the registered sex offender shall be attached to the travel records, alien registration records and derogatory records, and the same will be part of the sex offender file," the Immigration statement added.

Also in the statement, Mison ordered that once the BI receives information about a registered sex offender, the office of the commissioner or other BI offices will endorse the offender's file to the BI legal division within 24 hours from receipt of the letter or records from authorized personnel of a foreign embassy.

Within 48 hours from receipt of the sex offender file, the legal division shall draft an order directing the offender's inclusion in the BI blacklist. — Joel Locsin/RSJ, GMA News

source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/364303/news/nation/immigration-bureau-registered-sex-offenders-barred-from-entering-phl

[Al422 221]

The two cases reported here were men wanted on crimes that had not been resolved yet.

I wonder if someone who already did his crime and did his time would be treated the same way?

Or what about smaller non violent sex crimes like possession of child porn or public lewdness?

I am not questioning a country's right to keep dangerous people out. Just wondering how far they will go here.

Edited June 5, 2014 by Al422

[JohnR! 5,495]

Good. We need to keep these predators from seeking victims overseas.

[Caryh 5,206]

The two cases reported here were men wanted on crimes that had not been resolved yet.

I wonder if someone who already did his crime and did his time would be treated the same way?

Or what about smaller non violent sex crimes like possession of child porn or public lewdness?

I am not questioning a country's right to keep dangerous people out. Just wondering how far they will go here.

There have been a fair amount of reports recently of people on the sex offender list with past cases being denied entry. Some had cases before the sex offender lists were even created and are not included on them, but information was shared when the AWA created a denial of a petition. The denied petitioner was then barred from entering the Philippines. As written, the statement appears to refer to anyone who gets listed in the sex offender registry, with no judging if it was a serious case to generate a ban on entry, apparently all registered offenders are banned.

[Al422 221]

Does somebody sound an alarm when such a person boards the plane? I noticed when I went there last July the immigration officer never looked at a computer terminal when I was at her station. She just inspected my passport and the form I filled out, asked me a few questions and I was in. If I were an RSO and hid that fact, how would she have known?

[sweet cakes 326]

Passports are now electronic and scanned. If passport is still not electronic, it's as simple as keying-in a passenger's passport number. Knowing Bureau of Immigration, the blacklist will most likely be composed of only one single list / database for all Registered Sex Offenders and other Interpol-listed criminals; no classifications whatsoever.

Even state scholars' names barred from exiting Philippines are in the same (outgoing) blacklist as with the rest of the criminals' database. They can only know why you are barred from exiting when they enter your record on file. I can't imagine it being different for the incoming blacklist.

[Caryh 5,206]

Does somebody sound an alarm when such a person boards the plane? I noticed when I went there last July the immigration officer never looked at a computer terminal when I was at her station. She just inspected my passport and the form I filled out, asked me a few questions and I was in. If I were an RSO and hid that fact, how would she have known?

passenger manifests are sent ahead to the country when the plane has boarded and left. So they have plenty of time to check the list.

[Al422 221]

OK Got it.

[TiklingGuy 211]

Good. We need to keep these predators from seeking victims overseas.

So someone who got caught taking a piss at a treeline off the highway is a Predator? Those people can and will be put on a sex offender list if caught. My neighbor, very great guy. Single father with full custody of his kid, fired a guy at his work that was a former friend of his. That guy broke into his house and installed child porn on his computer. He was able to prove that his house was broken in to but the lazy cops we have in our town refused to report the evidence. That guy reported to the police that my neighbor was a child porn distributer. He was put on a sex offender list and his status was ruined in our town. His appeals were denied because of the extent of child porn buried in his computer that he had no idea were it was. Is he a predator? There are many guilty people out there but not everyone is a "Predator" .

[Hank_ 9,174]

That is the system.... want it different... change the system.