AN American with a previous conviction for sexual abuse was denied entry into the country by the Bureau of Immigration last Monday.
Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said 36-year-old Matthew Stephen Gross was intercepted and barred from entering the country after he arrived at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport aboard an Eva Air flight from Taipei.
“He was excluded and immediately sent back to his port of origin under immigration exclusion proceedings,” Viado said.
Under existing immigration rules, individuals convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude, including sexual offenses, may be denied entry for being a threat to public interest and safety.
He said Gross was convicted in 2012 for second-degree sexual abuse in the United States involving a 17-year-old victim.
Viado said the exclusion of Gross is part of the BI’s intensified efforts to protect vulnerable sectors, particularly children, under its flagship ShieldKids campaign.
“Protecting children from sexual predators is a moral obligation, not just a legal one. Foreign nationals with a history of sex crimes, especially those involving minors, have no place in the Philippines,” the BI chief added.
