TWO Americans convicted of child sex offenses and a Korean wanted for fraud were barred from entering the country as the Bureau of Immigration (BI) stepped up its crackdown on foreign offenders.
At the Ninoy Aquino International Airport’s (NAIA) Terminal 3, 53-year-old Daniel Anthony Welch was refused entry after immigration officers verified his criminal record in the United States.
Welch arrived on a United Airlines flight from San Francisco. BI records showed that he was convicted in the US in 2006 of sexual assault and a pattern of abuse involving a 14-year-old child.
Philippine immigration law bars foreign nationals whose presence in the country is considered prejudicial to the public interest.
Four days earlier, another American, 57-year-old Christopher Jon Plowman, was stopped at the Mactan-Cebu International Airport.
Plowman arrived on an EVA Air flight from Taipei. BI officers found that he had been convicted in the US in 2005 for a criminal offense involving a child.
The two cases form part of the BI’s #ShieldKids campaign, which seeks to prevent foreign nationals with records involving child sexual abuse from entering the Philippines.
“These cases demonstrate our commitment to keeping children and vulnerable persons safe. The Philippines will not be a refuge for foreign nationals with criminal records involving the sexual abuse of children,” Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado said.
“Through our #ShieldKids campaign, we are strengthening our efforts to prevent foreign sexual predators from entering our country,” Viado said.
Meanwhile, BI agents arrested a 65-year-old South Korean wanted in his country for fraud.
The BI Fugitive Search Unit, in coordination with the Korean National Police Agency, arrested Son Jongin on Aug. 25 during an enforcement operation in Barangay Comembo, Makati City.
South Korean authorities had informed the BI of an arrest warrant issued against Son by the Nonsan Branch of the Daejeon District Court in 2020 for fraud.
Son was also found to be undocumented and overstaying in the Philippines.
During the operation, BI agents also encountered Song Ung Il, 85, another Korean national who was found to be improperly documented and the subject of a deportation order issued in 2015.
“Foreign fugitives cannot expect to hide in the Philippines and evade the cases filed against them. We will find them; we will arrest them, and we will enforce our immigration laws,” Viado said.
The two Koreans were brought to the BI Warden’s Facility, where they will remain while their immigration cases are being processed.
