TWO more American sex offenders were barred entry to the country over the weekend.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said Renee White, 57, was intercepted by immigration officers at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport when he arrived aboard a Cathay Pacific flight from Hong Kong last January 13.
On the same day, immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport also barred Scott Edward Edson, 47, after he disembarked from a United Airlines flight from Guam.
Tansingco said the two were convicted for sex-related crimes against minors in the United States.
“They were immediately turned away after BI officers confirmed that they have records of convictions for sex offenses in the US. They were booked on the first available flight to their ports of origin as a consequence of exclusion orders that were issued against them by immigration officers for being undesirable aliens,” Tansingco said.
Last Friday, three Americans also convicted of sex-related crimes against minors were also barred entry to the country by immigration officers.
“We have been warning these sex offenders that they are not welcome here. If we encounter them, we have no choice but to turn them back. We are duty-bound to prevent the entry of aliens who are deemed as excludable under our immigration laws,” Tansingco said.
The BI earlier reported barring 171 registered sex offenders from various countries in 2023 from entering the country.
The BI chief said information provided by US authorities revealed that in 2002 a court in Alabama convicted White for engaging in sexual misconduct against a 14-year-old girl while Edson was convicted in 1994 of raping a 13-year-old child.
