"Fox has been known as a human rights activist, a Duterte critic, but that is not the issue here."
"Fox has been known as a human rights activist, a Duterte critic, but that is not the issue here."
Funny how the opposition has been using the issue of deported nun, Sister Patricia Fox, just to criticize President Rodrigo Duterte in their fervent hope to advance their political agenda.
On the eve of Fox’s forced departure, Senator Francis Pangilinan launched another barrage of attack against Duterte, describing the deportation of the Australian nun as a sign of “fear, cowardice and weakness.”
“Deporting a 70-year-old, ailing nun is not a sign of power and strength. It is a sign of great fear, of cowardice and of weakness,” Pangilinan said in a statement.
Pangilinan even added the Duterte administration was afraid of losing its power, prompting them to deport Fox.
“This administration is deathly afraid of losing its grip on power and so even a 70-year-old, ailing nun critical of government’s abuse must be deported,” he said.
So sorry, dear Senator, but I beg to disagree. Standing pat on the deportation order against Fox was a manifestation of the administration’s firm resolve to uphold our sovereignty.
Yes, Fox has been known as a human rights activist, a Duterte critic, but that is not the issue here. The issue here is the violation of immigration laws and Fox had been found to have violated the conditions of her stay. She was found to be an undesirable alien due to her participation in partisan political activities.
According to the Bureau of Immigration, those activities do not fall within the ambit of the religious missionary visa given to her as she never represented her congregation in these events, but instead represented different cause-oriented groups.
“The law is clear, the entry and admission of an alien is a matter of privilege and not a right,” Immigration spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval stressed.
And with the deportation of Fox, our government has finally shown its foreign counterparts that we are no longer patsies when it comes to matters concerning Westerners meddling in our internal affairs.
Since time immemorial, any opposition to an incumbent government would always seek assistance from foreign groups or individuals, particularly from Western countries, to invite international attention to the Philippines and give credence to their criticisms of the sitting government, even unfounded or unverified.
How many foreign participants do we see every time a huge rally is mounted against a sitting government? Foreign funding has been reported to also be pouring to support these anti-government activities.
And yet these anti-government protesters who are said to be receiving foreign funding and allowing foreign participants among their ranks are those vehemently protesting against foreign intervention.
How ironic.
Can these people protesting Fox’s deportation, especially Senator Pangilinan, attend a rally in the United States or in Australia where Fox hails, and denounce human rights violation in their host country and expect them to be coddled by the host government as they are simply exercising freedom of speech and expression?
The Fox deportation is one clear step of putting a halt to these foreign meddling in our country’s internal affairs.
As dear friend Leslie Bocobo posted on his social media account, “Foreigner meddling in the affairs of a sovereign. State has all the right to deport an undesirable alien, and so what if she’s a nun?”
Leslie also offers a piece of unsolicited advise to Pangilinan and it goes, “And you Kiko need to drown yourself in more cesspools to bring out your true nature like a dead duck in the water.”
Leslie’s words, not mine.
All I can say is that the opposition’s play on Fox, especially that of Pangilinan, is too foxy.