THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has denied entry to four foreigners convicted of sex crimes in their home countries as part of the government’s continuing campaign against pedophiles and traffickers. Immigration Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado disclosed Monday that the foreign sex offenders were issued exclusion orders after they were intercepted in separate occasions at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Clark International Airport (CIA), and Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA). “They were denied entry in line with the government’s intensified efforts to protect Filipino children from exploitation and abuse under #Shield Kids campaign,” added Viado. In 2024, the BI launched Project #ShieldKids Campaign, in coordination with the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD). Project #Shieldkids endeavors to harmonize government efforts against sex offenders in the country by institutionalizing a network of communication amongst government agencies involved in investigating and arresting pedophiles and traffickers. Among those denied entry was Julian Johnson, 56, an American, who arrived at CIA on Oct. 26 aboard a Starlux Airlines flight from Taipei City. Records show that Johnson was convicted in 1996 in the United States for lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 years old and was sentenced to one year of confinement and five years of probation. Also excluded was Stefan Andrew Alletson, 34, a New Zealander who arrived at NAIA Terminal 3 from Hong Kong. Information from the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime (PCTC) revealed that he was previously convicted of a sex crime in New Zealand. Online news reports state that he is a former football coach who was convicted in New Zealand for sending sexually explicit photographs to 14-year-old boys. He pleaded guilty to multiple charges related to the possession and distribution of objectionable material. Canadian Leo Paul Houle, 77, was also denied entry at MCIA after records showed that he was convicted in 2018 of child pornography-related offenses and conspiracy to commit a sexual offense against a person under 18 years of age. The most recent interception was recorded on Nov. 4 at NAIA Terminal 1, where BI officers excluded Charles White, 69, a US citizen convicted in 2007 for committing a criminal sexual act in the third degree involving a 15-year-old victim. Viado commended the alertness of immigration officers and emphasized that the bureau remains firm in its zero-tolerance stance against foreign sex offenders attempting to enter the country. “The Philippines will never be a safe haven for convicted predators,” Viado said. “Our airports serve as the first line of defense in protecting our children, and we will continue to strengthen border security through the #ShieldKids campaign,” he said. Citing BI records, Viado said the bureau barred 137 foreign nationals from entering the country in 2024 for being registered sex offenders, and 169 in 2023. The same data showed that 109 Americans topped the list of those barred, followed by 12 Britons, five Australians, three Germans, and two Canadians. Also excluded were citizens from American Samoa, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, Japan, Ireland, and the British Indian Ocean Territory. The BI has likewise apprehended multiple pedophiles in Philippine soil. Notable among these arrests are the apprehension of French pedophile Theddy Douglas Tissier in Makati in December 2024, and the successful capture of octogenarian pedophile David John Buckley in Cebu last November 2024. Viado encouraged citizens to report sexual predators that might be in their communities to the BI. “By protecting our children, we defend our future,” he said. “Let us all do our share in protecting the most vulnerable from these undesirable aliens.”