Sister Fox leaving PH ‘under protest’

With the Bureau of Immigration (BI) downgrading her visa to that of a temporary visitor, Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox is set to leave the country by Nov. 3.

“After six months of arduous battle in the legal and political arena since her illegal arrest and detention on Apr. 16, the [bureau] today denied Sister Fox’s application for a visa extension and required her to leave the Philippines on Nov. 3,” the National Union of People’s Lawyers said in a statement on Wednesday.

“She will leave under protest. We will not allow the government to forcibly expel Sister Fox given her stature as a respected missionary nun and human rights defender,” the group added.

‘Paranoid’ officials

In an interview with reporters, Fox said she was really sad about the immigration decision “but can’t do much now.”

But the nun, a longtime resident in the country, said she intended to return unless she was blacklisted by the authorities.

“Early next year, probably. I will look at the situation. It depends on the deportation case,” she said.

Sorsogon Bishop Arturo Bastes, meanwhile, denounced the BI’s decision, saying it only showed the “paranoid attitude of our officials who are guilty of heinous crimes against humanity.” —TINA G. SANTOS