By Vann Marlo M. Villegas
THE LEGAL counsel of Australian missionary Patricia Fox said the nun will leave the country on Nov. 3 following the Bureau of Immigration’s denial of the extension of her temporary visitor’s visa.
In a statement, her lawyer said Ms. Fox 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,” the statement read, adding: “Sr. Fox will leave the Philippines with a clear conscience that she has done nothing wrong and illegal during her 27 years of stay in the country. She is and will always be loved by the Filipino people.”
The BI (Bureau of Immigration) previously denied Ms. Fox’s application for the extension of her missionary visa and required her to apply for a downgrade to a temporary visitor’s visa.
She was granted the temporary visitor’s visa on Oct. 24 with 59-day validity starting from the expiration of her missionary visa on Sept. 5. It will expire on Nov. 3.
Ms. Fox’s legal counsel added that she will continue her missionary and human rights work. “She will continue to stand for the oppressed and speak about injustices against the Filipino people.”
“She intends to come back (to) the Philippines as soon as President Duterte is out of power and another government more receptive of dissent and who recognizes missionary and human rights work is in place.”
Ms. Fox has a pending petition for review before the Department of Justice (DOJ), assailing the deportation case issued by the BI against her.
Ms. Fox was arrested on April 16. President Rodrigo R. Duterte has admitted that she ordered the investigation of Ms. Fox for “disorderly conduct.”
