Bureau of Immigration to deport German child molester

MANILA, Philippines - Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Marcelino Libanan has ordered the deportation of a German national who was convicted in his country for several counts of child molestation.

In an order issued Feb. 11, Libanan ordered the expulsion of Holger Arvid Ingo Becker, 48, for being an undesirable alien and included his name in the BI blacklist to prevent him from returning to the Philippines.

He was also asked to pay a fine of P50, 000 as additional penalty for his having violated Philippine immigration laws, the BI said.

Becker has been detained at the immigration jail in Bicutan since April 2009, following his arrest at his residence in Cavite City. The BI said Becker had hidden in the Philippines since January 2008.

The German embassy described Becker as a notorious pedophile who was convicted for child abduction and had been accused of molesting several children in Germany before he fled to the Philippines.

The BI said the arrest warrant was issued in February 2009 by a Hamburg court, where he was charged with raping a five-year-old girl in September 2006. – Helen Flores