MANILA, Philippines — There is no crackdown on foreigners deemed critical of the Duterte administration, Malacañang said yesterday as it dismissed as mere enforcement of the law the detention of an elderly Australian missionary and the deportation of an Italian activist recently.
“It’s not a crackdown. It’s the law,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said. “As I said, dura lex sed lex – the law may be harsh, but such is the law.”
Immigration agents picked up 71-year-old Sister Patricia Anne Fox from her Quezon City home on Monday and detained her for nearly 24 hours at the Bureau of Immigration (BI) main office in Intramuros, Manila.
President Duterte admitted on Wednesday that it was his order to have Fox investigated “for disorderly conduct” that led to her arrest.
Italian Giacomo Filibeck, meanwhile, was held over the weekend at the Mactan International Airport and sent back to his country of origin after being blacklisted for reportedly engaging in partisan politics.
Roque said it was not the first time that Fox or any foreigner had been arrested in the Philippines for involvement in political activities.
Fox was first arrested in 2013 – for joining farmers’ protest action in Hacienda Luisita. Roque said she was briefly detained and released without charges.
“So it’s clear in our laws: those in the Philippines are here because of our consent for them to be here, but they are not allowed to engage in any political activity,” Roque said.
He noted that during the previous Aquino administration, authorities also deported Dutch activist Thomas Van Beersum in August of 2013 for taunting a crying policeman during a rally when then president Benigno Aquino III was delivering a State of the Nation Address (SONA). Beersum, 30, was nabbed just as he was about to take a flight to China.
Roque also explained the context of his saying “apologies are in order.”
“I said the statement early in the morning on the basis of the cardinal statement that the sister was released because she was not subject to summary deportation as she was not caught in flagrante delicto,” he said.
“So in my mind, since the process is preliminary investigation to determine if she should be subjected to deportation proceedings, so in my mind, there was a mistake,” Roque said.
He stressed it is not the Palace which should apologize as it has done nothing wrong, “so I left it at that.”
“And of course, the President and I remain united in our common stand that foreigners should not be engaged in any political activity,” he said.
Outrage
Meanwhile, Fox’s detention has sparked condemnation from various groups. Her confreres in the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion issued a statement “indignantly condemning” her arrest and detention.
The congregation asked the government not to deport Fox and instead allow her “to continue her vital ministry.”
In a statement, congregation regional co-leader Sr. Mary Barbuto said Fox was arrested and detained “without due process and respect for her fundamental rights.”
Barbuto expressed gratitude “for the support accorded to Sister Pat by those in her networks and to the international community who are ever watchful.”
Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo and Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes called the President a “liar” and “ignorant” for berating Fox.
“A public figure cannot be onion skinned. We are in a democracy and freedom of speech is inviolable,” Pabillo said in an interview.
“Duterte is lying! He cannot even take criticism from the Filipinos. Look at what happened to (Sen. Leila) De Lima. He cannot even prove disorderly conduct from Sr. Pat! He just cannot take criticism and his actions and words are not beyond criticism,” the prelate said.
“Sr. Fox, an Australian, has the right and duty to denounce Duterte for his program to kill persons extrajudicially, which is a crime against humanity,” Bastes stressed.
In a statement posted on its website, the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP) said it’s President Duterte who is the people’s enemy.
“Human rights defenders, including foreigners such as Australian missionary Patricia Fox, are friends of the Filipino people, especially the toiling masses of workers and peasants,” the CPP said.
“He (Duterte) is despised for his rehabilitation of the Marcoses, alliance with the Arroyos and other icons of fascism and corruption and for plundering government coffers together with his big business and foreign monopoly capitalist friends,” the CPP said.
The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) also slammed the Duterte administration for the “mistaken” arrest of Fox.
“This kind of incident is a dangerous precedent for foreign human rights workers. Framing their work as ‘interference’ without concrete basis may discourage foreign nationals from doing important missionary and humanitarian work in our country,” CHR said.
“It is hoped that such an incident, which impacts basic rights and erodes dignity of those affected, will not be repeated. We urge the government to follow proper procedures and protocols to ensure rule of law,” it added. – Marvin Sy, Janvic Mateo, Edu Punay, Jose Rodel Clapano, Ding Cervantes