Senator Francis Pangilinan. INQUIRER.net file photo / CATHY MIRANDA
Senator Francis Pangilinan on Friday evening said the Duterte administration’s deportation order against Australian nun Patricia Fox was 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.
The senator 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.
Fox is set to leave the country on Saturday evening after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) reverted her visa status to a temporary visitor which is valid for 59 days.
BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said in a previous statement that Fox’s 59 days started from her missionary visa got expired which was last Sept. 5.
Fox has been criticized by President Rodrigo Duterte, calling her “foul mouthed” and stating that she should be deported. /jpv
RELATED STORY
Lawyers to Sister Fox: ‘You have inspired us immensely’