Philippines: Australian nun, 71, faces deportation from the Philippines for 'illegal political activities'
Event- Country
- Philippines
- Initial Date
- Apr 16, 2018
- Final Date
- Apr 18, 2018
- Event Description
An Australian nun arrested in the Philippines for engaging in "illegal political activities" has been released pending further investigation after authorities became aware she held a valid missionary visa. Key points: Sister Fox says she was arrested by six immigration officials The Australian nun has been working in the Philippines for 27 years MPs are calling for her release Her detention came a day after Giacomo Filibeck, a Socialist Party official from the European Union who had criticised Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte's brutal anti-drugs crackdown, was deported. Sister Patricia Fox, 71, was reportedly taken from her house and brought to the immigration bureau in Manila, said Renato Reyes, secretary-general of the leftist Bayan (Nation) movement. She had taken part in a human rights fact-finding mission in the country's south, according to Mr Reyes, who also said the immigration department informed her about deportation proceedings against her. "We condemn her unjust detention and the deportation proceedings initiated against her," Mr Reyes said "She is no criminal or undesirable alien. Sister Fox is the superior of the Notre Dame de Sion in the Philippines, a congregation of Catholic nuns. In a statement, the Philippines Bureau of Immigration said the department's legal division had recommended releasing Sister Fox, and that her missionary visa was valid until September 9 this year. The bureau said she was detained "due to reports that she violated the conditions of her stay by engaging in political activities and anti-government demonstrations." "While Fox was alleged to have taken part in protest actions by farmers in the past, she was not doing so at the time when[Bureau of Immigration] operatives served her the mission order yesterday," the statement said. "Fox should undergo preliminary investigation to determine if deportation charges should be filed against her before the bureau's board of commissioners." Sister Fox had been involved with human rights missions on the southern island of Mindanao, where Mr Duterte has declared martial law. The Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) said she had been working in the Philippines for 27 years. In a series of tweets, CBCP quoted Sister Fox as saying she was arrested by six immigration officials at a mission house in Quezon City at about 2:15pm on Monday (local time). The CBCP said she was detained at the Intelligence Division of the Bureau of Immigration in Intramuros. Sister Fox's attorney Jobert Pahilga said the fiscal in charge of the inquest recommended Sister Fox be released once she was able to produce her passport, which she had given to a travel agency arranging her trip back to Australia next month, according to CBCP. The immigration bureau confirmed Sister Fox's arrest but declined to issue any statement until after the investigation is complete. Sister Fox was unavailable for comment. Leftist MPs have vowed to hold a congressional inquiry into the deportation of foreign human rights advocates. UPDATE: On 18 April 2018, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte said he ordered the investigation into a 71-year-old Australian nun for "disorderly conduct," justifying it as a legal move against "undesirable" foreigners. "I ordered her to be investigated, not deported at once, not arrested, but to invite her to an investigation for a disorderly conduct," Duterte said during the change of command ceremony of the Armed Forces of the Philippines. Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said there was "probably" a need to apologize for the detention of Fox because she was not engaged in any political activity when she was taken from her home by immigration authorities. UPDATE: On April 25 2018, In a one-page order, immigration bureau head Jaime Morente asked Fox to leave the Philippines after "she was found to have engaged in activities that are not allowed under the terms and conditions of her visa." Fox, who has been in the country for more than 27 years, has 30 days to exit the Philippines after receipt of the order. Her renewable missionary visa, which was due to expire in September 2018, was cancelled on Monday, but an immigration spokeswoman said she can still return to the mainly Catholic Southeast Asian country as a tourist, not as a missionary. She has decided to challenge this order by filing for a motion for reconsideration.
- Impact of Event
- 1
- Gender of HRD
- Woman
- Violation
- (Arbitrary) Arrest and Detention
- Judicial Harassment
- Rights Concerned
- Right to political participation
- HRD
- WHRD
- Perpetrator-State
- Government
- Source
- Monitoring Status
- Pending
- Event Location
Latitude: 12.879721000000004
Longitude: 121.774017
- Event Location
- Summary for Publications
On 16 April 2018, Sister Fo, the superior of the Notre Dame de Sion in the Philippines, a congregation of Catholic nuns, who has been advocating for the rights of the poor in the philippines, has been threatened for deportation for engaging in 'illegal political activities'.