Sister Fox deserves to stay in the country — groups

MANILA, Philippines — Groups slammed the order of the Bureau of Immigration to deport Australian missionary Patricia Fox, calling the move a “persecution.”

In a resolution Thursday, the BI Board of Commissioners said that aside from deporting Fox, her name was also included in the bureau’s blacklist, thus barring her re-entry into the Philippines. The order came a month after the Department of Justice voided BI’s decision to revoke the missionary visa of the 71-year-old nun.

Rights group Karapatan on Friday said the BI order used to justify the “persecution” of Fox was “vague and arbitrary.”

“Sr. Fox deserves to stay in the country, surely more than the parasites in government who have willingly plundered and violated the rights of the majority; and definitely more than pretentious nationalists who might as well give up our territories to US and China,” Karapatan secretary General Cristina Palabay said.

“Helping the poor is not a risk to public interest, peace or order. In fact, the government must recognize her selfless service to the oppressed sectors of this society,” group Hands off Sr. Patricia Fox also said.

The Immigration said there were photographs showing that Fox had engaged in several partisan political activities.

BI took into consideration the earlier statements of the chief executive that tagged Fox as an undesirable alien by joining political rallies.

Duterte, who took full responsibility for the investigation into Fox, called out the nun for having a “shameful mouth.” But she denied criticizing the president.

But Palabay and Hands off Sr. Patricia Fox insisted that the Australian missionary remained true to her mission and expressed her solidarity to the Filipinos.

“Sr. Pat’s missionary work is not a defiance to the government but a firm solidarity to all the struggles of the Filipino people. She has all the rights under domestic and international laws to exercise her freedom of religion and expression,” Hands off Sr. Patricia Fox said.

The camp of Fox said it is planning to file a motion of reconsideration before the DOJ to challenge the bureau’s deportation order.

READ: Group on leave order vs Sister Fox: Joining probe, supporting peasants not crimes