American ‘pedos’ intercepted at NAIA
According to information provided by the US government, Sallaj was found guilty in December 2012 of sexually abusing a 12-year-old kid by a Tennessee court
The Bureau of Immigration reported that two more Americans were barred from entering the country at Ninoy Aquino International Airport due to their criminal records as convicted sexual offenders.
BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco said that these two passengers were recently excluded upon their arrival at NAIA Terminal 1.
Reports identified the Americans as Joseph Sami Sallaj, a 30-year-old who arrived last Friday from Taipei and Eduardo Ison Balenbin, a 72-year-old who arrived on Saturday from San Francisco.
“They were immediately sent back to their port of origin and placed on our blacklist to prevent them from entering the country should they attempt to return in the future,” Tansingco said.
The BI chief also stressed that according to immigration law, aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude are expressly forbidden from entering the country because their presence puts Filipino women and children in danger.
“We can not allow our country to be a hub for sex tourism. Foreign pedophiles are not welcome here; thus, they will be turned away the moment they step on our airports,” Tansingco said.
According to information provided by the US government, Sallaj was found guilty in December 2012 of sexually abusing a 12-year-old kid by a Tennessee court.
Meantime, it was reported in May 2007 that Balenbin was found guilty by a Californian judge of acting indecently and lewdly towards a minor.
Since Sallaj and Balenbin are both registered sex offenders in their respective jurisdictions, authorities will continue to monitor them even after their sentences are over.
In other developments, Tansingco said that information from local government units about illegal aliens living in their areas is still vital.
This, as the BI cited a recent operation of its Regional Intelligence Operations Unit 2 on 16 January 2024 in Barangay Sta. Maria, Cab No. 8, Ilagan City, Isabela.
The operation, in coordination with the Ilagan City police station, resulted in the arrest of 67-year-old South African Abdool Kamer Mahamed for overstaying and for being an undocumented alien.
Fortunato Manahan Jr., chief of the BI Intelligence Division, stressed the vital significance of information gathered at the barangay level as he stressed that the inquiry into Mahamed’s operations began with the barangay complaints, which were crucial in confirming his illegal records and acts.
The BIID chief also said that Mahamed was the subject of complaints in the barangay, allegedly because of his disruptive behavior there.