The Philippine Bureau of Immigration (BI) has excluded two American nationals previously convicted of child sex offenses and arrested a South Korean fugitive wanted for fraud, in separate operations carried out as part of its intensified enforcement against foreign nationals deemed threats to public safety.

In a statement on Sunday, the agency said the two Americans, aged 53 and 57, were denied entry after immigration officers verified their criminal records in the United States.

The 53-year-old was barred at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 on Aug. 20. Bureau records showed he was convicted in 2006 of sexual assault and a pattern of abuse involving a 14-year-old victim.

The second American was excluded at Mactan-Cebu International Airport on Aug. 16 after officers confirmed his 2005 conviction in the United States involving a child.

Both men were denied entry under Philippine immigration law covering foreign nationals whose presence is considered "prejudicial to public interest." The Philippine Immigration Act of 1940 gives the Bureau authority to exclude and deport aliens on such grounds, and the exclusion of foreign nationals with child sex offense convictions reflects obligations under international cooperation frameworks aimed at preventing child sexual exploitation, including the trafficking and exploitation risks flagged in the Philippines by the US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report.

Separately, agents of the BI Fugitive Search Unit, working in coordination with the Korean National Police Agency, arrested a 65-year-old South Korean national in Makati City on Aug. 25. He is wanted in South Korea under a 2020 arrest warrant for fraud, and was also found to be undocumented and overstaying in the Philippines. The case illustrates the Bureau's practice of working with foreign law enforcement agencies, including South Korean police, to locate wanted nationals who flee to the Philippines; South Korea is among the largest sources of foreign tourists and long-term residents in the country.

During the same operation, BI agents apprehended another South Korean national, aged 85, who had been ordered deported in 2015 for being improperly documented.

"All these cases demonstrate our commitment to keeping children and vulnerable persons safe," BI Commissioner Joel Anthony M. Viado said in a statement, adding that foreign fugitives "cannot expect to hide in the Philippines."

The Bureau said the foreign nationals were placed under its custody pending the disposition of their respective immigration cases. — Mark Joseph M. Sanchez