Gov’t establishing registry of foreign sex offenders

The government is creating a registry of foreign sex offenders to help prevent their entry to the Philippines, the Department of Justice (DOJ) said on Monday, Dec. 4.

“Kung magawa itong registry na ito dagdag resource ito upang talagang mapigilan ang mga ganitong klaseng tao na pumasok sa bansa natin (Once this is done, it will be an additional resource to prevent the entry of these persons),” DOJ Undersecretary Nicholas Felix L. Ty said during the "Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon" forum.

Ty cited: "Nakikita natin sa balita ang BI marami silang naiintercept na mga foreign sex offenders at hindi nila pinapapasok (we already see in the news that the Bureau of Immigration has already intercepted and prevented the entry of many foreign sex offenders).”

He said the creation of the registry is pursuant to Republic Act (RA) No. 11930, the Anti-online Sexual Abuse or Exploitation of Children (OSAEC) and Anti-child Sexual Abuse or Exploitation Materials (CSAEM) Act.

The registry, he said, is being done by the National Coordination Center against OSAEC and CSAEM (NCCOSAEC-CSAEM), the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), and the Bureau of Immigration (BI).

“Hindi natin maitatanggi na global hotspot ang Pilipinas sa online sexual abuse and exploitation of children dahil sa iba’t ibang factors kasama na d’yan ang kahirapan, kasama na rin ang galing ng ating kababayan sa English language, pagiging tech savvy natin, at pagiging diffused ng internet connection dito (It cannot be denied that the Philippines is a global hotspot on online sexual abuse and exploitation of children because of various factors including poverty, our knowledge of the English language, our being tech savvy, and the diffused internet connection in the country),” he said.

Just recently, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco expressed alarm over the rise in the number of foreign sex offenders coming into the country this year. (Jeffrey Damicog)