Australian missionary sister Patricia Fox is banned from returning to the Philippines after the Bureau of Immigration included her name in the list of blacklist order and ordered her to leave after the bureau denied the nun’s petition to extend her Temporary Visitor’s Visa.
BI Spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said the BI has denied with finality Fox’s request to extend her stay in the country in an order dated Oct. 31.
The 72-year-old missionary was to leave the country before her visa expired on Nov. 3 or she will be declared overstaying and undocumented alien, according to her lawyers.
“It is not mandatory for the BI to extend an alien’s visa, especially a foreigner who has been proven to have violated immigration laws,” Sandoval said.
“The law is clear, the entry and admission of an alien is a matter of privilege and not a right,” she added.
Fox had been the subject of a deportation order last July for violating the conditions of her stay and for undesirability, due to her participation in partisan political activities, which she has not denied.
“These activities do not fall within the ambit of the religious missionary visa given to her,” said Sandoval. “She never represented her congregation in these events, but instead represented different cause-oriented groups.”
The denial of her plea for an extension, Sandoval said, is without prejudice to her appeal to the Justice Department on her deportation.
“For now, she is required to exit the country before the expiry of her visa. She is also currently in the blacklist,” but added that they have to “wait for the decision of the Department of Justice on her deportation” to know if she can still return to the Philippines.
Fox on Saturday joined a thanksgiving Mass in Quezon City, hours before her departure from the country.
READ: Australian nun to leave, visa extension denied
Bagong Alyansang Makabayan in a statement on Saturday said that the expulsion of Sr. Fox is a “great injustice.”
“Her being forced to leave the Philippines is a great injustice. The Duterte regime has treated her solidarity with the poor as something undesirable and criminal,” Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said in a statement.
Immigration denied the nun’s application for the extension of her temporary visitor’s visa and ordered her to leave the country on Nov. 3, said the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), which is representing her.
Fox was accused of joining “political activities” prohibited among foreigners. While she admitted to participating in fact-finding missions and advocating for social justice causes, she maintains her activities are within the scope of her missionary work and are protected by guarantees to free speech and assembly.
She was first arrested then released pending a further probe by Philippine authorities in April.
READ: Aussie nun slams ‘reign of tyranny’ in Philippines