The Bureau of Immigration (BI) opened the new year by intercepting another American sex offender from entering the country at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).
In a statement, BI Commissioner Norman Tansingco identified the passenger as 39-year-old Zachary Tyler Thompson, who was intercepted at the NAIA Terminal 1 after arriving aboard a Philippine Airlines from Los Angeles.
He was convicted both in 2013 and 2015 for possessing obscene materials depicting a minor in sexual conduct and for annoying or molesting a child under 18 years of age.
Meanwhile, the BI also reported the interception of 46-year-old Paul Neal Coltharp, who was also intercepted at the NAIA terminal 1 last Dec. 27 after he arrived aboard an Eva Air flight from Taipei.
According to the US government, a California court convicted Coltharp of child molestation in 1998, wherein the victim was a 14-year-old girl.
Both aliens were immediately excluded and flown back to their port of origin. Their name has likewise been included in the BI blacklist of undesirable aliens.
The BI chief explained that as registered sex offenders (RSOs), both Thompson and Coltharp are excludable aliens under the immigration act, which forbids the entry of aliens convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude.
2 planes suspected to have collided burst into flames at Tokyo airport
After the strong earthquake that hit Japan this Monday, two planes are suspected to have collided and caught fire at Haneda airport in Tokyo this Tuesday.
A Reuters report said 379 passengers and crew of Japan Airlines survived, while a smaller Japanese Coast Guard plane was the other plane involved in the incident.
According to the spokesperson of the Japan Coast Guard, the captain of the plane survived while the five on board were still unaccounted for.
In live footage from public broadcaster NHK, the Japan Airlines Airbus A350 aircraft can be seen bursting into flames while skidding on the tarmac after landing.
Despite efforts to extinguish the fire, the plane caught fire after all 367 passengers and 12 crew were evacuated.
According to the Coast Guard, the plane involved in the collision was on its way to Niigata airport.
The plane was supposed to deliver aid to the victims of the earthquake that killed 48 people.
A spokesperson for Japan Airlines said that the plane that caught fire came from Shin-Chitose Airport on the northern island of Hokkaido.
All runways at Haneda airport were closed due to the incident.
Authorities are still investigating the details of the incident.
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