Patricia Fox may raise deportation case to Supreme Court

MANILA, Philippines — Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox is prepared to bring her deportation case before the Supreme Court, the Solidarity with the Poor Network (SPN) said yesterday.
The group said Fox appealed yesterday to the Department of Justice (DOJ) to let her stay in the country and reverse a deportation order against her by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), which denied her motion for reconsideration of an earlier order on Aug. 23.
Fox also applied for a tourist visa at the BI while waiting for the DOJ’s decision.
It said Fox’s main argument is that the BI prejudged the case when it based its decision mainly on Duterte’s statement that she is an undesirable alien, not on the merits of the case.
SPN said Fox “fully intends to exhaust all legal remedies that she is entitled to. Besides appealing to the DOJ, she will also appeal up to the Supreme Court if the need arises.”
When Fox followed up yesterday on her Aug. 20 petition for the BI to renew her missionary visa, which is set to expire on Sept. 5, the BI said she did not pay the filing fee so her application was not considered filed.
Fox’s lawyer, Katherine Panguban, said the BI was hesitant to ask for the filing fee because Fox has a pending deportation case.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said even if Fox is given a missionary visa, the “deportation case goes above everything else.”
If Fox’s visa is downgraded to a tourist visa, which is valid for 59 days, her activities in the country would be limited to “business, pleasure and health.” – Ding Cervantes
- Latest
- Trending