Sister Patricia Fox: I did not criticize Duterte
MANILA, Philippines — Australian nun Patricia Fox maintained that she did not say anything in a protest action she had attended in Davao City earlier this month that might have earned the ire of President Duterte.
“I did not say anything [about Duterte],” Fox said in a press briefing Thursday.
The 71-year-old advocate of land reform and peasant rights was asked to leave the country within 30 days for allegedly participating in partisan political activities.
Last Friday, Malacañang presented photos of Fox showing that she spoke at a rally organized by the Kilusang Mayo Uno and Gabriela party-list in front of the local Coca-Cola factory in Davao City on April 9.
READ: Philippines does not want Australian nun in the country over this photo
But Fox said that she only showed support to the workers.
“Sabi nila pwede may something words of support kaya sinabi ko sa kanila na ‘ang puso ko ay nasa inyo’ and social teachings of the church [ay] malinaw: may karapatang ma-unionize, may karapatan to a just wage, may right to a security of tenure and sana pabalikin kayo sa trabaho. ‘Yan lang ang sinabi ko,” she said.
READ: Despite visa cancellation, Sister Patricia Fox vows to continue helping marginalized
The lay missionary, who has been working in the country for 27 years, noted that she felt “ill” when she learned about the Immigration order yesterday.
“Sana may due process, sana may pagkakataon ako para mapaliwanag kung ano ba ang missionary work,” she said.
Fox’s legal team believes she caught the government’s attention when she joined a fact-finding mission on the alleged human rights abuses in Mindanao.
“Si sister napag-initan kasi foreigner siya pero bakit siya sumasali sa ganyan. Essentially ‘yun ‘yung root ng lahat ng ito,” lawyer Jobert Pahilga said.
The Immigration’s Operations Order SBM-2015-025 provides that “foreign tourists are prohibited from engaging in any political activity as defined by law and jurisprudence, such as but not limited to, joining, supporting, contributing or involving themselves in whatever manner in any rally, assembly, gathering, whether for or against the government.”
Groups raised concern that this Immigration order would be used to harass and arrest more foreigners critical of the Philippine government.
In a speech last week, an angry Duterte blasted Fox for her supposedly having a “shameful mouth: and admitted that he was the one who ordered Immigration officials to investigate her.
He noted that foreigners are not allowed to criticize the government in the Philippine soil.
“You don’t have the right to criticize us. You can come here to enjoy all the sights,” Duterte said.
READ: Duterte says he ordered Immigration to investigate Australian nun
The Bureau of Immigration releases from its custody rights and land reform advocate Patricia “Sister Pat” Fox who was nabbed for her reported violation of country’s law banning participation in any political assembly.
The 71-year-old lay missionary was detained in the immigrations office Monday afternoon. Her arrest came only a day after BI deported Giacomo Filibeck, an official of the Party of European Socialists.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo says there is a "reign of fear" on part of those who violate the law as a response to Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox's remark on President Rodrigo Duterte's "reign of tyranny."
"She was a violator, that’s precisely why she departed from the country but that is not to say that… We are grateful for the good deeds she performed but that will not exempt her from the punishment imposed by law," Panelo says while conceding that the nun is entitled to her opinion.
The elderly nun, who spent decades working with the marginalized, returned to Australia on Saturday, November 3, after losing a long legal battle in the Philippines to stop her deportation.
She apparently angered Duterte by joining a fact-finding mission in April to investigate alleged abuses against farmers, including killings and evictions by soldiers fighting guerrillas in Mindanao.
The Bureau of Immigration denies Australian missionary Patricia Fox's request for an extension of her temporary visitor's visa and orders her to leave the country before November 3, the day her visa expires.
"Under the circumstances, she is compelled to leave under strong protest. We will not allow the government to forcibly expel Sr. Fox out of the country given her stature as a respected missionary nun and human rights defender neither will we give them the wicked pleasure of gloating over this injustice," National Union of People's Lawyers and Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo, which have acted as counsels and have campaigned for public support for the nun, say in a statement.
They add: "Sr. Pat will continue her missionary and human rights work wherever she may be. She will continue to stand for the oppressed and speak about injustices against the Filipino people."
Justice Secretary Guevarra says Fox's "voluntary departure on November 3, if true, is without prejudice to the resolution of her deportation case." He adds that if Fox wins the deportation case, her name will be removed from the Immigration bureau's blacklist.
The Bureau of Immigration has downgraded Australian nun Patricia Fox’s Missionary Visa to a Temporary Visitor’s Visa with a 59-day validity.
Sister Patricia Fox's legal counsels say they have yet to receive the official copy of the Bureau of Immigration order denying their motion for reconsideration on the Australian nun's application for a missionary visa.
Earlier on Monday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the Immigration has rejected Fox's appeal for an extension of her missionary visa.
Meanwhile, Fox is set to file on Monday next week, October 15, her reply on the comment of the Immigration on her petition for review before the Justice department on the deportation filed against her.
"Sr. Pat hopes that the DOJ will settle the substantive issues raised in our Petition for Review particularly on the right of foreigners to their exercise of freedom of expression and assembly, universally recognized by both domestic and international laws, which the BI refused to squarely address," they say.
The Bureau of Immigration denies Sister Patricia Fox's request to extend her missionary visa.
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval tells Philstar.com in a text message that the Australian nun is ordered to file for downgrading to revert her visa status to a temporary visitor with a 59-day stay starting the date of the expiry of her missionary visa.
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