Immigration bureau orders Australian missionary Sr. Patricia Fox to leave PHL

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has ordered Australian missionary Sr. Patricia Fox to leave the Philippines.

The order came with the BI's cancellation of Fox's missionary visa based on a decision last Monday of a three-man panel headed by BI Commissioner Jaime Morente based on Section 9 of the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940.

Her missionary visa was originally set to expire on September 5.

"She (Fox) was found to have engaged in activities that are not allowed under the terms and conditions of her visa,” Morente was quoted in a statement as saying.

Morente said the nun's visa only allowed her the privilege of engaging in missionary work and not in political activities.

According to information on the BI website, a missionary who would like to render community service in the Philippines should get a pre-arranged employee's visa for missionaries under Section 9(g) and Section 20 of the Commonwealth Act No. 613 or the Philippine Immigration Act of 1940. Under Section 9(g), a nonimmigrant visa may be granted to a person with prearranged employment. However, "an alien who is admitted as a nonimmigrant cannot remain in the Philippines permanently," it said. Those who want to obtain permanent admission "must depart voluntarily to some foreign country and procure from the appropriate Philippine consul the proper visa and therafter undergo examination by the officers of the Bureau of Immigration at a Philippine port of entry for determination of his admissibility in accordance with the requirements."

The BI ordered Fox to leave the country within 30 days after receiving the order.

The order also directed the deactivation of her alien certificate of registration.

Meanwhile, BI spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang said Fox can still enter and exit the country as a tourist.

In an interview on ANC, lawyer Jobert Pahilaga said they have not received a copy of the BI order.

Fox's camp has not even submitted a counter affidavit, he added.

Fox's deportation case is still pending before the BI Special Prosecutor.

The BI said that after Fox submits her counter affidavit, it will then decide whether or not she will be deported and barred from entering the Philippines in the future.

"We will file a motion for reconsideration on this order," said Pahilga in a report by Reuters. "She has not participated in any partisan activity. She is a nun."

Bayan reacts

The left-wing activist group Bayan condemned the expulsion order of an Australian nun who "has done so much for Philippine farmers in her nearly three decades stay here," Reuters reported.

"The Duterte regime is paranoid and afraid of an elderly nun working for human rights and social justice for the poor," Bayan leader Renato Reyes said in a statement.

"The deportation order of Sister Pat is indeed despicable and utterly shameful," said Reyes.

The 71-year-old superior of the Notre Dame de Sion, who has been helping peasants and indigenous peoples for 27 years, was arrested by the BI on April 16 pursuant to a mission order issued by Morente. She was released a day later.

Two days after the arrest, President Rodrigo Duterte said he was the one who ordered an investigation on Fox for supposed "disorderly conduct."

Fox said she was surprised at Duterte's remark and said she did not know what triggered the President to make such remarks against her.

The Commission on Human Rights started a probe on the arrest to ascertain whether laws were complied with.

On Friday, Malacañang presented an alleged photo of Fox speaking at a rally organized by the Kilusang Mayo Uno and Gabriela party-list in front of the Coca-Cola distribution center in Ulas, Davao City, on April 9.

Fox had confirmed speaking during the event, but explained that  it was supposed to be a press conference and that it was not a protest action.

"If he's referring to the Coca-Cola incident in Davao, it wasn't a rally. It was meant to be a press conference but because there are many other things going on, there was no press," Fox told reporters at a briefing in Quezon City last Saturday. —with a report from Reuters/Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/KG/ALG, GMA News