MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) is preparing to deport two foreign nationals classified as undesirable aliens due to their involvement in child-related sexual offenses.
BI Commissioner Joel Anthony Viado disclosed that the arrests occurred in separate operations led by the bureau’s Fugitive Search Unit (FSU) in Pampanga and Taguig. “They will be deported promptly and added to the blacklist, ensuring they are barred from entering the Philippines again,” Viado said.
On October 16, American citizen Joseph John Graham, 76, was apprehended at Clark International Airport in Angeles City, Pampanga. Graham faces 55 counts of child pornography charges, as per a warrant issued by the 19th Judicial Circuit Court in Indian River County, Florida. Authorities found numerous explicit images of minors, including Filipino children as young as three years old, on Graham’s phone. He is frequently known to travel to the Philippines. While deportation proceedings are underway, he will stay under the custody of the National Bureau of Investigation for possible additional charges.
On the same day, British national Ryan Ashley, 50, was detained by immigration staff at the BI SM Aura office in Taguig when he tried to extend his tourist visa. Ashley is a registered sex offender with past convictions in the United Kingdom in 1994 and 2002 for multiple sexual offenses against minors. Following his arrest, he was transferred to the BI’s Bicutan detention center.
These arrests are part of the BI’s #Shieldkids campaign, a concerted effort to remove child sex offenders and so-called “sex tourists” from the country. #
