The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested an American man wanted for child sex offenses in his home country during an operation in Manila.
BI Fugitive Search Unit chief Rendel Ryan Sy said James Russel Munson, 67, was apprehended Wednesday along Roxas Boulevard in Ermita. No further details on the arrest circumstances were disclosed.
According to the Philippine Center on Transnational Crime and US authorities, Munson was convicted as a child sex offender. Sy noted that Philippine immigration laws prohibit entry of foreigners convicted of crimes involving moral turpitude, including registered sex offenders.
The arrest is part of BI’s Project #Shieldkids, a campaign targeting sexual predators and foreign nationals who pose risks to public safety and children’s welfare.
Munson will remain in BI custody and face deportation proceedings and eventual blacklisting, in line with President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.’s directive to protect vulnerable sectors from foreign predators.
