CHR: Deportation order vs Sister Fox 'deeply saddening'

MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights on Saturday urged the Bureau of Immigration to review its decision ordering the deportation of an elderly Australian nun who landed in President Rodrigo Duterte’s crosshairs.

Patricia Fox, 71, has been ordered to leave the country by the BI. The directive is final and executory within 30 days unless a motion for reconsideration is filed.

Fox vowed to fight deportation and said she will appeal the BI’s order next week.

“It is not a crime to do humanitarian work and service as part of a religious mission for poor and vulnerable communities,” the CHR said in a statement.

“The deportation order sets a dangerous precedent for foreign human rights workers and discourages them from doing important humanitarian work in our country,” it added.

Duterte, who has defied international pressure and has strongly rejected criticisms of his human rights record, easily won the race to Malacañang on a brutal law and order platform.

Fox has spent nearly three decades helping the poor and fighting for land rights in tribal communities in the Philippines. The Immigration bureau had ordered the forfeiture of her missionary visa for allegedly engaging in political activities in the country.

The hypersensitive president has accused the Melbourne native nun of having a “shameful mouth” and of treating the Philippines like a “mattress to wipe your feet”.

Last month, Italian politician Giacomo Filibeck, a vocal critic of Duterte’s deadly drug war, was barred from entering the country. But Duterte had repeatedly denied ordering a crackdown against dissent, saying he never sent a critic to jail “except if you’re a foreigner because that is another thing.”

“The principles of human rights mist reign supreme when distinguishing between humanitarian work and perceiving something as political activity,” CHR said.

“We must take to heart that the protection of human rights of all persons in the Philippines, including foreign nationals, is the duty of the government,” it added.

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