TWO more American sex offenders were barred from entering the country recently by the Bureau of Immigration.
Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco said the two were turned back last Friday and Saturday upon their arrival at the NAIA Terminal 1.
Tansingco said 30-year-old Joseph Sami Sallaj arrived last Friday from Taipei while Eduardo Ison Balenbin, 72, came in last Saturday from San Francisco.
“They were immediately sent back to their ports of origin and placed in our blacklist to prevent them from entering the country should they attempt to return in the future,” Tansingco said.
The 1940 Philippine Immigration Act forbids the entry of aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude such as sex-related offenses in the country.
“We cannot allow our country to be a hub for sex tourism. Foreign pedophiles are not welcome here. They will be turned away the moment they step on our airports,” the BI chief added.
He said information provided by US authorities showed that Sallaj was convicted in December 2012 by a court in Tennessee for the crime of sexual battery involving a 12-year-old child.
