Makabayan bloc pushes to grant Filipino citizenship to Sister Fox
MANILA, Philippines (Updated 12:57 p.m.) — The House of Representatives’ Makabayan bloc filed a bill, which seeks to grant Filipino citizenship to Australian nun Patricia Fox who is being ordered to leave the country after landing in President Rodrigo Duterte’s crosshairs.
The bloc, consisting of seven party-list lawmakers, filed House Bill 7806 on Wednesday, two days before the Congress is set to adjourn sine die on June 2.
In a press briefing, Rep. Emmi De Jesus (Gabriela party-list) said that granting Filipino citizenship to Fox would be a recognition for her service to the poor and marginalized Filipinos, which has spanned for 27 years.
“In 1990, Sr. Pat left her good life in Australia as a teacher and a lawyer and chose the Philippines as her missionary area and to live with the poor, particularly the peasants and indigenous peoples,” the bill’s explanatory note read.
Aside from De Jesus, HB 7787 was filed by Rep. Sarah Elago (Kabataan party-list), Rep. Carlos Isagani Zarate (Bayan Muna party-list), Rep. Antonio Tinio and Rep. France Castro (ACT-Teachers party-list), Rep. Arlene Brosas (Gabriela party-list) and Rep. Ariel Casilao (Anakpawis party-list).
The Bureau of Immigration said that if the proposed bill to make Fox a Filipino citizen is granted, the agency could no longer deport her.
“A Philippine citizen cannot be deported from the Philippines,” it said.
The measure, however, might have difficulty to get the lower house’s nod as most lawmakers are allied with Duterte.
Philstar.com sought Fox for comment on the Makabayan bloc’s move but she has yet to reply as of posting.
The 71-year-old missionary was given until June 18 to leave the country following an appeal to the Department of Justice to reverse the leave order handed by the Bureau of Immigration against her over alleged involvement in partisan politics and activities.
Fox, a Melbourne native, was supposed to leave last Friday, May 25.
In a speech last month, an angry Duterte blasted Fox for supposedly having a “shameful mouth” and admitted that he was the one who ordered Immigration officials to investigate her. — with reports from Evelyn Macairan
READ: Sister Fox on extended stay in Philippines: ‘Temporary victory’
The Bureau of Immigration releases from its custody rights and land reform advocate Patricia “Sister Pat” Fox who was nabbed for her reported violation of country’s law banning participation in any political assembly.
The 71-year-old lay missionary was detained in the immigrations office Monday afternoon. Her arrest came only a day after BI deported Giacomo Filibeck, an official of the Party of European Socialists.
Presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo says there is a "reign of fear" on part of those who violate the law as a response to Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox's remark on President Rodrigo Duterte's "reign of tyranny."
"She was a violator, that’s precisely why she departed from the country but that is not to say that… We are grateful for the good deeds she performed but that will not exempt her from the punishment imposed by law," Panelo says while conceding that the nun is entitled to her opinion.
The elderly nun, who spent decades working with the marginalized, returned to Australia on Saturday, November 3, after losing a long legal battle in the Philippines to stop her deportation.
She apparently angered Duterte by joining a fact-finding mission in April to investigate alleged abuses against farmers, including killings and evictions by soldiers fighting guerrillas in Mindanao.
The Bureau of Immigration denies Australian missionary Patricia Fox's request for an extension of her temporary visitor's visa and orders her to leave the country before November 3, the day her visa expires.
"Under the circumstances, she is compelled to leave under strong protest. We will not allow the government to forcibly expel Sr. Fox out of the country given her stature as a respected missionary nun and human rights defender neither will we give them the wicked pleasure of gloating over this injustice," National Union of People's Lawyers and Sentro para sa Tunay na Repormang Agraryo, which have acted as counsels and have campaigned for public support for the nun, say in a statement.
They add: "Sr. Pat will continue her missionary and human rights work wherever she may be. She will continue to stand for the oppressed and speak about injustices against the Filipino people."
Justice Secretary Guevarra says Fox's "voluntary departure on November 3, if true, is without prejudice to the resolution of her deportation case." He adds that if Fox wins the deportation case, her name will be removed from the Immigration bureau's blacklist.
The Bureau of Immigration has downgraded Australian nun Patricia Fox’s Missionary Visa to a Temporary Visitor’s Visa with a 59-day validity.
Sister Patricia Fox's legal counsels say they have yet to receive the official copy of the Bureau of Immigration order denying their motion for reconsideration on the Australian nun's application for a missionary visa.
Earlier on Monday, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the Immigration has rejected Fox's appeal for an extension of her missionary visa.
Meanwhile, Fox is set to file on Monday next week, October 15, her reply on the comment of the Immigration on her petition for review before the Justice department on the deportation filed against her.
"Sr. Pat hopes that the DOJ will settle the substantive issues raised in our Petition for Review particularly on the right of foreigners to their exercise of freedom of expression and assembly, universally recognized by both domestic and international laws, which the BI refused to squarely address," they say.
The Bureau of Immigration denies Sister Patricia Fox's request to extend her missionary visa.
Immigration spokesperson Dana Sandoval tells Philstar.com in a text message that the Australian nun is ordered to file for downgrading to revert her visa status to a temporary visitor with a 59-day stay starting the date of the expiry of her missionary visa.
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