MANILA, Philippines — Sen. Panfilo Lacson on Monday said that Sister Patricia Fox should have offered prayers for Philippine government officials, instead of claiming that there is a "reign of terror" in the country.
Lacson said that the nun might have uttered the said statement because “she just can’t contain her bitterness and hatred.”
The senator, in a statement posted by News5, said that Fox “should have offered prayers for the enlightenment of concerned government officials instead of tirades and harsh criticisms against an elected leader of a country that hospitably hosted her for so many years.”
READ: Sen @iampinglacson statement on Sister Patricia Fox's claim that there is reign of tyranny in Ph and her camp's claim that Fox's deportation is a form of political persecution: @News5AKSYON @onenewsph pic.twitter.com/bTnUNhrOvL
— marie ann los banos (@maeannelosbanos) November 5, 2018
After 27 years of doing missionary work in the country, Fox went back to Australia on November 3 after the Bureau of Immigration denied her plea to extend her temporary visitor’s visa.
When she arrived in Melbourne on Sunday morning, Fox said: “At present, the Philippines, the human rights abuses are just increasing and it’s a reign of terror. Of tyranny.”
She also noted that “There’s been a culture of impunity for a long time and it’s getting worse.”
But Lacson pointed out that the elderly nun “should have offered prayers instead for the Filipinos whom she claimed she loves dearly.”
“Having said that, she cannot be more Filipino than most of us,” the senator added.
Fox: Act on the plight of the urban poor, farmers, workers and IPs
Before leaving the country, Fox said that she remains puzzled why the president, who lambasted her in his speeches for having a "shameful mouth," does not ike her, but she urged President Rodrigo Duterte to listen to the "cries of the minority."
"He should pay attention to and act on the plight of the urban poor, farmers, workers and indigenous people—and not just listen to the concerns of the military and business people,” the nun added in press conference before her flight back to Australia.
Palace spokesperson Salvador Panelo earlier said that instead of a “reign of terror, tyranny” that Fox claimed, there is a “reign of fear” for those who violate the law. The Palace spokesman also stressed that Fox is a violator of the law, but the Palace remains grateful for her service to the Filipino people.
CHR thanks Fox for pushing for human rights
Meanwhile, Commission on Human Rights spokesperson Jaqueline de Guia thanked Fox for her dedication in pushing for the rights of Filipinos, especially of farmers, laborers and the urban poor.
“Founded on the universality of human rights, being a foreign national did not prevent her from dedicating almost three decades of her life addressing, within her means, an array of injustices and violations against the rights of the most vulnerable and marginalised in our country,” the spokesperson said.
“The Commission continues to remind the government of its human rights obligations to all persons in the country, Filipino or otherwise, in line with the human rights conventions it has accepted in the interest of upholding the dignity of all,” de Guia added. — Kristine Joy Patag