(Eagle News)—Australian nun Patricia Fox has no plans of leaving the Philippines yet.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, May 23, her lawyer Jobert Pahilga said that they would file a petition for review of the May 17 BI order that affirmed a previous order she should leave the country because she violated the terms of her missionary visa.
“For the said order, if not challenged, will have far-reaching implications to other missionaries similarly situated with Sister Pat as the BI can now rule and decide what activity is considered political or not,” Pahilga said.
He said Fox “thus expects and hopes that the BI will abide by its rules of procedure, not arrest or forcibly deport her, give her the opportunity to appeal it to the DOJ and let the latter decide on her appeal.”
He said she “has the right to be accorded due process and equal protection of the law.”
In the first place, he said that according to Fox, “what she did – participating in gatherings or assemblies of farmers, indigenous peoples who demand that their rights to land and resources be respected; or workers in their demand for humane and just wages, security of tenure, and humane conditions of work, and the like – is an exercise of that right (to freedom of expression) and are not political activities but simply to help promote and protect the rights of the poor and the needy.”
“They are consistent and in accordance with her mission and the charism of the Sister of our Lady of Sion to promote peace, social justice, and human rights,” Pahilga added.
The BI has said that Fox could still return to the Philippines pending resolution of a separate deportation case filed against her.
In the May order, the BI said Fox’s claims the accusations against her were baseless were not backed up by solid evidence.
Fox has been ordered to leave the country by May 25.