• The Philippine immigration authority has ordered the deportation and blacklisting of an Australian nun who was investigated for her political activism per instructions from President Rodrigo Duterte.
• The authority said 71-year-old Sister Patricia Fox “poses a risk to public interest” and has been accused of violating the terms of her missionary visa.
• Fox served as a missionary in the Philippines for 27 years and advocates for human rights and welfare in the country.
• Fox’s lawyers said they plan to appeal the decision and will fight “this kind of persecution.”

The Philippine immigration authority has ordered the deportation and blacklisting of an Australian nun who was investigated, under instruction from President Rodrigo Duterte, for her political activism.

Sister Patricia Fox, 71, is to be deported because her presence in the country “poses a risk to public interest,” and she has been accused of violating the terms of her missionary visa by venturing beyond her suburban community, Associated Press reported.

Fox has served as a missionary in the Philippines for 27 years, and is the coordinator of a congregation of nuns called Notre Dame de Sion. She has advocated for human rights and welfare in the country, and has joined in protests against Duterte and his government.

Fox’s lawyers said in a statement seen by AP that they would appeal to fight “this kind of persecution.”

“Helping the poor is not a risk to public interest, peace or order. In fact, the government must recognize her selfless service to the oppressed sectors of this society,” her lawyers said in a statement.

In April, Duterte personally ordered an investigation into Fox’s activities and claimed she was an an “undesirable foreigner.” Fox was taken from her home and detained by immigration services for nearly 24 hours, Reuters said.

Fox has defended her activism, and refuted claims she engaged in anti-government displays.

“I haven’t joined political rallies in terms of party politics, but I have been active in human rights issues,” Fox has said.

Duterte has been particularly sensitive to criticism over issues regarding human rights in the country. Rights groups have said his bloody war on drugs has killed over 12,000 people, and calls have been made for the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation. </s> Manila — The Philippines has issued a fresh deportation order for an elderly Australian nun who angered President Rodrigo Duterte, as her lawyers pledged to block her expulsion.

Sister Patricia Fox, 71, has been accused of illegally engaging in political activism as the government cracks down on foreign critics on its soil.

"We find Fox Patricia Anne, Australian national, in violation of the limitations and conditions of [the Philippines immigration law] and order her deportation to Australia," said the government order on Thursday, shown to AFP by her lawyers.

Duterte has supported Fox’s removal. He ordered her arrest in April and previously said he wanted her investigated for "disorderly conduct".

Fox, who has been living in the Philippines since 1990, drew the president’s wrath after joining a fact-finding mission in April to investigate alleged abuses against farmers, including killings and evictions by soldiers fighting guerrillas.

In June her deportation was halted when justice secretary Menardo Guevarra said immigration authorities used the wrong procedure to expel her.

Fox’s lawyers told AFP they plan to appeal the new deportation order within the next few days. </s> Dondi Tawatao/Getty Images

The Philippine immigration authority has ordered the deportation and blacklisting of an Australian nun who was investigated, under instruction from President Rodrigo Duterte, for her political activism.

Sister Patricia Fox, 71, is to be deported because her presence in the country "poses a risk to public interest," and she has been accused of violating the terms of her missionary visa by venturing beyond her suburban community, Associated Press reported.

Patricia Fox REUTERS/Romeo Ranoco

Fox has served as a missionary in the Philippines for 27 years, and is the coordinator of a congregation of nuns called Notre Dame de Sion. She has advocated for human rights and welfare in the country, and has joined in protests against Duterte and his government.

Fox's lawyers said in a statement seen by AP that they would appeal to fight "this kind of persecution."

"Helping the poor is not a risk to public interest, peace or order. In fact, the government must recognize her selfless service to the oppressed sectors of this society," her lawyers said in a statement.

In April, Duterte personally ordered an investigation into Fox's activities and claimed she was an an "undesirable foreigner." Fox was taken from her home and detained by immigration services for nearly 24 hours, Reuters said.

Fox has defended her activism, and refuted claims she engaged in anti-government displays.

"I haven't joined political rallies in terms of party politics, but I have been active in human rights issues," Fox has said.

Duterte has been particularly sensitive to criticism over issues regarding human rights in the country. Rights groups have said his bloody war on drugs has killed over 12,000 people, and calls have been made for the United Nations and the International Criminal Court to launch an investigation. </s> An Australian nun, who was living in the Philippines, was ordered to be deported by the country’s immigration bureau because she angered President Rodrigo Duterte by joining allies against his government.

According to the state-run Philippine New Agency (PNA), along with the deportation order, 71-year-old Sister Patricia Anne Fox was blacklisted which means she can’t re-enter the country again.

The nun, who fought to stay in the country for more than three months, is accused of rallying for anti-government prisoners and fighting for their release. She was charged with violating the terms of her missionary visa because she reportedly engaged in political activities across the country.

However, her lawyers said they would appeal against the order and called the move “persecution.”

“Helping the poor is not a risk to public interest, peace or order. In fact, the government must recognize her selfless service to the oppressed sectors of this society,” her lawyers said.

“Well of course I'm disappointed but that's the order, and we'll look at what we can do about it,” Fox told PNA.

The nun has been working with the country’s poor people since the last 27 years. During that time, she has worked for human rights and workers’ welfare. Working for humanity ended up her joining allies against Duterte.

Consequently, the president ordered a probe into her activities in the country. As the probe deepened, the 71-year-old was taken into custody by authorities in April 2018. Moreover, her visa type was also changed to temporary visitor’s visa.

As her case reached the court, in June, a judge granted her an appeal and also ordered to change her visa type to missionary visa again. She was allowed to stay in the country but a separate deportation case against the nun was filed in the court.

“Those in the Philippines are here because of our consent for them to be here. But they are not allowed to engage in any political activity,” said Presidential spokesman Harry Roque Jr.

Eventually, her deportation was ordered that stated she “poses a risk to the public interest.” The order also stated that Fox participated in a rally that was protesting Duterte’s extension of martial law. It also accused her of taking part in conferences that tackled rights issues against the government.

Duterte has plainly stated he has no problem trampling on human rights in his war against drugs. He has also gone one step further by calling on the police to shoot any human rights activist daring to stand up to his devastating drug war. </s> The Philippines issued on Thursday a fresh deportation order for an elderly Australian nun who angered President Rodrigo Duterte, as her lawyers pledged to block her expulsion.

Sister Patricia Fox, 71, has been accused of illegally engaging in political activism as the government cracks down on foreign critics on its soil.

"We find Fox Patricia Anne, Australian national, in violation of the limitations and conditions of (the Philippines immigration law) and order her deportation to Australia," said the government order shown to AFP by her lawyers.

Duterte has supported Fox's removal. He ordered her arrest in April and previously said he wanted her investigated for "disorderly conduct".

Fox, who has been living in the Philippines since 1990, drew the president's wrath after joining a fact-finding mission in April to investigate alleged abuses against farmers -- including killings and evictions by soldiers fighting guerrillas.

Last month her deportation was halted when justice secretary Menardo Guevarra said immigration authorities used the wrong procedure to expel her.

The decision gave Fox a reprieve but Guevarra also ordered the immigration authorities to hear a case on her visa's cancellation along with pending deportation proceedings.

The new order issued Thursday would also bar her from re-entering the Philippines. The immigration office spokeswoman did not return AFP's calls for comment.

Fox's lawyers told AFP they plan to appeal within the next few days.

"Under the (immigration service) rules, if we file the order is not executory. And we will file an appeal," lawyer Jobert Pahilga said.

"Very sad, but hopefully I can challenge it still," the nun separately told AFP in a text message.

Duterte, 73, has also launched a deadly crackdown on drugs and has railed against human rights critics, especially foreigners whom he accuses of meddling in his nation's affairs.

"Don't let her in because that nun has a shameless mouth," Duterte said in April, accusing the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion missionary of "disorderly conduct".

Fox has denied engaging in politics, saying her actions were part of her work to advocate for justice and peace. </s> Australian nun Patricia Fox announced on Friday that she would appeal against a deportation order issued against her by the Philippine government a day earlier over allegations of involvement in political activities against the country's president.

Fox's lawyer Sol Taule said that the appeal would be filed on Monday and added that the order issued by the Bureau of Immigration set a bad precedent. </s> Australian missionary Sister Patricia Anne Fox on Thursday, July 19, was ordered by the Board of Commissioners (BOC) of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) to be deported and blacklisted, barring her from ever returning to the Philippines.

The BOC, composed of Commissioner Jaime Morente, Associate Commissioner J. Tobias Javier and OIC Associate Commissioner Marc Red Marinas, ruled that Fox violated Philippine immigration laws and was found to be an undesirable alien after thorough review and deliberation.

“The BOC found that her actions are inimical to the interest of the state. The Bureau has ordered her [Fox’s] deportation to Australia, and the inclusion of her name in the BI’s blacklist, barring her re-entry into the country,” Sandoval stated.

The BI, in its resolution, noted that Fox was granted a missionary visa on July 21, 2016 valid until September 5 of this year “with a limitation that she will render her missionary work in Barangay Amihan, Quezon City.”

However, the BI said “Fox engaged and interfered in political activities from north (Tarlac) to south (South Cotabato) of the Philippines. She works outside of her community.”

“Fox violated the limitation and condition of her missionary visa which allowed her to engage in missionary/religious work, not political activities, in the Philippines. Her presence in the country poses a risk to public interest,” the BI added.

Foreign missionaries in the country must be directly and exclusively engaged in religious work in the Philippines. They must not engage in partisan political activity or in any endeavor not consistent with their religious or missionary vocation, the BI added.

Allowing Fox to participate in rallies, according to BI, would open floodgates for other aliens to join rallies to the detriment of public peace and order.

“Sister Fox was found to have violated immigration laws. When foreigners violate our Immigration laws, the law must be applied and enforced, in the same manner that Filipinos must follow immigration laws when they are in another country,” Sandoval said, explaining that there is no crackdown of foreign missionaries in the country.

“We welcome the presence of foreign missionaries in the Philippines, but, as with any alien staying in our country, they must respect and follow our laws,” she added.

Fox, for her part, told reporters that she was disappointed in the ruling.

“Well of course, I’m disappointed, but that’s the order, and we’ll look at what we can do about it,” she said in a phone interview with PNA on Thursday.

When asked if she will appeal the order, the 71-year old nun replied: “That was the plan. I’ll talk to the lawyers tomorrow, probably.”

One of her legal counsels, lawyer Maria Sol Taule, said they were ‘dismayed’ because they articulated their position in the counter affidavit and memorandum on the deportation case.

“Sister Pat did not engage in political activities. She is doing her missionary work here.

Again, we will exhaust all remedies available to us,” Taule said.

Fox’s camp in a statement added, “President Duterte and the BI have no basis to say that Sr. Pat is an undesirable alien, unless their definition of undesirability is helping the poor.” </s> Sister Patricia Fox's lawyer says the deportation order 'will set a very bad precedent for other missionaries who also want to stand in solidarity with Filipinos'

MANILA, Philippines – Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox will challenge the deportation order issued by the Bureau of Immigration (BI), as her lawyer said the BI order sets a "very bad precedent" for foreign missionaries like her.

In a press conference on Friday, July 20, Fox's lawyer Sol Taule said their camp will file a motion for reconsideration at the BI on Monday, July 23.

"Because we intend to file a motion for reconsideration on Monday, the decision is not final and executory until we have exhausted all our remedies," Taule said in a mix of English and Filipino.

Taule also criticized the deportation of foreign missionaries under President Rodrigo Duterte.

Before the BI ordered her deportation on Thursday, July 18, the BI deported 3 foreign Methodist missionaries also for supposedly joining political activities.

"We're seeing the start of this trend under President Duterte's government, to deport anyone who is doing good. What is wrong with standing for human rights? It's universal, right?"

Referring to the deportation order, Taule added, "It will set a very bad precedent for other missionaries who also want to stand in solidarity with Filipinos."

The BI on Thursday ordered the deportation of Fox allegedly because she "violated the limitation and condition of her missionary visa that allowed her to engage in missionary/religious work, not political activities, in the Philippines."

Fox earlier rejected the BI's "narrow-minded definition" of missionary work, saying she joins rallies and gatherings of the marginalized as "part and parcel of my apostolate and missionary work."

Reacting to this development, a Carmelite commission on justice and peace condemned the BI order to deport Fox.

"Why is it that the Duterte administration is so adamantly against her missionary work for these poor and marginalized sectors of society?" said the Carmelite priests, reiterating a previous statement.

"We believe that only a despotic tyrant would consider her missionary work as undesirable. Hence, we call on our fellow religious and missionaries and the people of goodwill to stand with Sister Patricia and continue our collective stand of solidarity with the marginalized sectors in our society," they added. – Rappler.com </s> JOANNA Demafelis loved life. She took hundreds of selfies and posted them all over social media. So it was unusual when she stopped.

Her family grew worried about the maid from the Philippines who had moved to Kuwait to support them. Their fears turned out to be justified.

In February this year, a full 12 months after she went missing, Ms Demafelis’ body was discovered inside a freezer in an abandoned apartment where she’d worked for a Lebanese man and his Syrian wife.

The sixth of nine children had moved overseas in 2014 like many young Filipino women do to help their families survive. They were struggling to repair the battered family home after Typhoon Haiyan tore through.

She would call family routinely and never complained. But when the calls stopped, her family went to authorities.

The Lebanese-Syrian couple was arrested in February in the Syrian capital Damascus following an Interpol manhunt.

Syrian authorities handed the husband, Nader Essam Assaf, over to Lebanese authorities, while his Syrian wife remained in custody in Damascus. On Sunday, the pair was sentenced in absentia to hang for their crimes, but the fallout has impacted an entire country.

Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte responded to Demafelis’ death by banning the deployment of Filipino workers to Kuwait, though that won’t affect the more than 250,000 Filipinos still working in the oil-rich nation.

The Philippine senate, meanwhile, has opened an inquiry into what went wrong.

The president, who is prone at making public outbursts, also lashed out at Middle Eastern nations.

“The Filipino is no slave to anyone, anywhere and everywhere,” an enraged Mr Duterte said shortly after Demafelis’ body was found. “We send to you a Filipino worker ... do not give us back a battered worker or a mutilated corpse.”

In the wake of the Demafelis murder, Manila has been working to facilitate the return of its nationals who wish to leave, including those who have lost their residency status.

Ambassador Renato Pedro Villa declined to comment on the verdict over the weekend when asked by reporters but told AFP on Sunday that his country has already repatriated 4000 Filipino nationals living in Kuwait without the necessary paperwork.

“We are now in talks with Kuwaiti authorities to secure an amnesty that will allow 6000 Filipinos living without papers to return,” he said.

Rights groups have voiced alarm over the plight of workers in the Gulf and other Arab countries, where migrant labour is regulated under a system known as “kafala”.

The kafala, or sponsorship, system ties migrant workers’ visas to their employers, prohibiting workers from leaving the country or changing jobs without prior consent.

In February, a casket carrying the body of Ms Demafelis arrived at Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Manila, four years after she left. Her relatives were inconsolable.

Back home, Philippine labour officials pledged to shoulder the repair of her family’s house — still not fixed — where relatives were preparing for her funeral.

— with AFP
The Philippines immigration authority has ordered the deportation and blacklisting of an Australian nun who was investigated, under instruction from President Rodrigo Duterte, for her political activism.