IMMIGRATION Officers assigned at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 barred from entering the country an American national tagged as a registered sex offender (RSO).
RSOs include people who have been previously convicted of sex offenses under prevailing laws of their country.
The American, identified as Gabriel Rodriguez, 34, attempted to enter the country last September 2 on board an All Nippon Airways flight from Haneda when officers intercepted him.
He was excluded under Section 29(a) 3 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940, which states that persons who have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude shall be barred from entering the Philippines.
Records reveal that Rodriguez has been convicted in 2019 in the US for unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor.
“Registered sex offenders pose as a threat to our people,” said BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco. “Those who preyed on children have no place in the Philippines,” he added.
As a consequence of the exclusion, Rodriguez’s name has been included in the BI’s blacklist, making him perpetually barred from entering the country.
