Sister Patricia has until today to leave country — BI
Australian missionary Sister Patricia Anne Fox has until today to leave the Philippines or run the risk of being blacklisted and barred from returning to the country, an official of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said yesterday.
BI spokesperson Dana Mengote-Sandoval said that the 71-year-old Fox would not be forced to board a plane to another country.
However, Sandoval said the BI could file another deportation case against the old nun.
While Fox would not be arrested if she defies the BI’s order, it could lead to another deportation proceeding that could lead to blacklisting, said Sandoval.
Last month, a deportation case was filed before the BI against Fox for allegedly engaging in partisan political activities that could be used to brand her as an undesirable alien, which is a ground for deportation.
Fox was arrested last April 16 in her congregation house in Quezon City and had to stay overnight at the BI head office in Intramuros, Manila.
Refusal to adhere to the BI’s order issued on April 25 for Fox to leave the country within 30 days or by May 25, after her missionary visa was forfeited, could be the reason for the second deportation case to be filed against her.
The BI on Wednesday afternoon announced that it issued a three-page order that was signed last May 17 reaffirming the bureau’s order forfeiting her missionary visa and ordering for her to leave the country.
If Sister Pat, who is the provincial superior of the Our Lady of Sion Sisters and has been living in the Philippines for 27 years, is still in the country by today, “there would be another deportation proceeding against her for not complying to leave. She will not be arrested, but there would be a hearing,” said Sandoval.
“The BI’s legal division would then say that she is non-compliant with the order to leave. She would then have to submit an affidavit of what happened and then it would be decided if she is guilty of committing the offense. If in the end, it would be proven that she is guilty then she would be deported,” she added.
Amid reports that the camp of Sister Pat is planning to elevate her case before the Department of Justice (DOJ) that has supervision over the bureau, Sandoval said that while the order on Fox’s motion for reconsideration is already final they would abide by the orders of the DOJ.
She pointed out that DOJ Secretary Medardo Guevarra was consulted before the BI came out with its decision.
The BI officer added that they have sent a letter to Fox’s camp informing them of the “downgrading of the visa.”
Fight deportation
Fox yesterday vowed to fight the deportation order against her.
Flanked by her lawyers, the nun faced the media after reports that the BI has affirmed with finality its order revoking her missionary visa.
An emotional Fox said it has been a difficult day for her after she learned of her deportation from the country she has grown to love for the last 27 years.
“It’s difficult but it doesn’t mean I’m not gonna fight this deportation order,” Fox said at a news conference in Quezon City.
While there is a place in Australia where she can go back to, Fox said she will continue fighting for the sake of ordinary people who are faced with other forms of repression.
“I kept thinking if this is happening to me, how much more the other people in the country,” she said, fighting back tears.
Among them are members of indigenous groups like the Lumads, people with contractual jobs and the landless folks in the country.
Fox admitted she was dismayed that she only learned of the decision affirming her deportation from news reports.
Fox is set to appeal her deportation case before the DOJ in her bid to assert her “right to due process.”
In a joint statement yesterday, her lawyers Jobert Pahilga, Katherine Panguban and Ma. Sol Taule said that while the BI has declared its verdict to deport Fox as final and executory, “Sister Pat is not precluded from filing an appeal to the Secretary of the Department of Justice.”