UPDATED - The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has cancelled the missionary visa of Australian Roman Catholic nun Sister Patricia Fox and ordered her to leave the country in 30 days.
Malacañang defended the move, saying the expulsion order against the nun is the dire consequence of her violation of the conditions imposed on any foreign national staying in the country.
Human rights watchdog Karapatan, on the other hand, slammed the BI order, describing it as “the Duterte regime’s act of reprisal on her (Fox’s) missionary work and human rights advocacy in the country.
In a statement on Wednesday, April 25, Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the BI Board of Commissioners decided to forfeit Fox's missionary visa over her involvement in partisan political activities.
Morente explained that Fox’s visa granted her only the privilege to engage in missionary work and not in political activities.
The order of the BI Board of Commissioners, issued on Monday, April 23, orders Fox to leave the Philippines within 30 days.
Despite the forfeiture of her visa, BI spokesperson Antonette Bucasas- Mangrobang explained that Fox may still enter the country as a tourist.
Mangrobang said the BI has yet to resolve Fox’s deportation case.
She said the BI Board of Commissioners will decide on whether or not it will deport and bar Fox from entering the country in the future only after the parties have been heard.
"It is only after the parties have been heard, will the case be submitted to the Board of Commissioners for the deliberation on whether or not she will be deported and barred from entering the country in the future," Magrobang said.
Fox has yet to submit her counter-affidavit in answer to the charge that she is an undesirable alien for allegedly joining protest actions.
Fox, 71 years old, was arrested by agents of the BI last April 16 for allegedly violating the conditions of her stay in the country. She was released the following day after she submitted her passport, showing that her missionary visa would expire on September 5, 2018 yet.
The nun has been staying in the country for 27 years, working closely with farmers and indigenous groups. She has been joining pro-human rights rallies in support for the poor and farmers.
“The so-called evidence on her ‘partisan political activities’ have no basis as these are expressions of her missionary work that is driven by the principles of social justice and human rights," Karapatan said in its social media post.
President Rodrigo Duterte on April 18 admitted that he had ordered the conduct of investigation against Fox for "disorderly conduct" when she purportedly badmouthed his government.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque Jr. on Wednesday justified the expulsion order against Fox, saying the Immigration bureau followed proper process before issuing the order.
"(The order for Fox to leave the Philippines) underwent a process. There was an evidence that she (Fox) really engaged in political activities," Roque said in a television interview.
"She is really interfering (in our domestic affairs) and engaging in the political issues in our country. So that is the consequence if you violate the terms and conditions of your visa," he added. (SunStar Philippines)