Patricia Fox: Deportation case lacks merit

MANILA, Philippines — Australian nun Patricia Fox yesterday asked for the dismissal of the deportation case filed against her for lack of merit.

Fox argued her activities in the country were part of her duty to engage in missionary work and not in partisan politics as alleged.

The 71-year-old nun, accompanied by her lawyers, went to the Bureau of Immigration (BI) office in Manila yesterday and submitted her 26-page counter-affidavit to the accusations that she violated the conditions of her stay in the country because she allegedly engaged in partisan political activities. 

“They are not political activities per se but also religious activities within the evangelization and missionary works of religious persons,” Fox said.

The BI last week downgraded her missionary visa, which was due to expire in September, to tourist visa and ordered her to leave the country within 30 days. 

She asked that her missionary visa be restored and for the BI to return her passport in exchange for her release from the agency’s custody. 

Fox is facing a cancellation of visa complaint filed by BI Davao Intelligence Field Unit (DIFU) Intelligence Officer II Melody Penelope Gonzales.

Gonzales accused the nun of joining rallies, supporting, contributing or being involved in assembly gatherings against the government, thus making her an “undesirable alien.”

Fox said Gonzales conducted “sloppy investigation and intelligence work and made malicious, sweeping and erroneous assumption and conclusion of facts and law in stating that what I did was beyond the limits of my missionary and apostolic works.”

Fox also said her rights have been violated such as her right to exercise religious freedom and worship in the country.  

She cited the Universal Declaration of Human Rights to which the Philippines is a signatory.

Fox said Gonzales should not have limited her research on the definition of “missionary” and “apostolic work” from online dictionaries and she should have consulted religious personalities and groups.

Fox also mentioned her presence in the country in 1990 was upon the invitation of four Catholic bishops.

Fox said she has been engaged in missionary and apostolate works for almost 27 years. She is the coordinator of the Rural Missionaries of the Philippines (RMP) where she is known to farmers and indigenous peoples and their organizations, which often invite her to attend fact-finding missions in rural communities.

Fox attended the recently concluded international fact-finding and solidarity mission in Mindanao early last month.

Fox admitted there were instances when she had to hold placards to “stop the killing” of farmers and tribal leaders or call for the respect of human rights and resumption of peace talks with the communist rebels.

“There is nothing wrong with that for those are universal calls directed to everyone, not just the government,” she said.

Various groups trooped to the BI yesterday to express their support for Fox.

The groups led by Fr. Rudy Abao of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and lead convener of Solidarity with the Poor Network appealed to the BI to reconsider its decision to deport Fox and let her continue her apostolate and missionary work in the Philippines.

Abao added the government’s deportation order of Fox is not only an attack against her but also a suppression of poor Filipinos whom she has wholeheartedly served.

“We demand the Duterte government to keep its hands off Sister Pat and other foreigners who uphold human rights and basic welfare of the Filipino people. Helping the poor and needy has nothing to do with partisan politics. It is a humane universal deed and a basic teaching of Jesus,” Abao said.

Meanwhile, the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) has expressed alarm over the recent attacks against church workers in the country. 

The CHR condemned the killing of Fr. Mark Ventura, who was gunned down after officiating a mass in Cagayan last Sunday. 

The CHR called on the government to act expediently in investigating the death of the priest, who is known for his tribal rights advocacy and opposition to mining in the province.

The CHR noted that the killing of Ventura came after the BI ordered Fox to leave the country due to alleged “political partisan activity.”

Last December, a priest in Nueva Ecija, Fr. Marcelito Paez, was also killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen hours after helping free a political prisoner. 

The CHR said it hopes that the series of attacks against church workers who are doing humanitarian work for the vulnerable sectors is not another form of harassment against human rights defenders.

“Regardless of faith, political affiliations and ideology, we are all human beings. We must appeal to our common humanity at all times and demand that all killings and forms of violence that harm our human rights be stopped,” the CHR said. 

“We must all work together and demand greater responsibility from the government in ending impunity on all fronts and ensure that justice and the rule of law prevail towards upholding the dignity of all,” it added. – With Rhodina Villanueva, Janvic Mateo