“She just can’t contain her bitterness and hatred.”
This was Senator Panfilo Lacson’s reaction to the claims of Sister Patricia Fox that there is a “reign of tyranny” in the country.
READ: Sister Patricia Fox slams PH ‘reign of tyranny’
“I couldn’t believe those words were uttered by a nun,” Lacson said in a text message to reporters on Monday.
“She just can’t contain her bitterness and hatred which doesn’t represent the teachings of the Catholic church,” he added.
The senator said the Australian missionary should have prayed for the enlightenment of concerned government officials instead of uttering “tirades and harsh criticisms” against “an elected leader of a country that hospitably hosted her for so many years.”
The senator added that Fox should have instead offered prayers for the Filipinos “whom she claimed she loves dearly.”
“Having said that, she cannot be more Filipino than most of us,” he added.
READ: Robredo: ‘Sister Fox more Filipino than many of us’
Lacson noted that there are laws and issuances by the Bureau of Immigration (BI) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) that do not allow foreigners to participate in any political activity whether pro- or anti-establishment.
The Australian missionary, who spent 27 years working with Philippine laborers, farmers, and the urban poor, was accused of illegally engaging in political activism as the President’s administration cracked down on foreign critics.
Fox left the country on Saturday night after the BI issued her deportation order.
READ: Sister Fox leaving PH ‘under protest’
“A visa issued by concerned PH authorities comes in the form of a privilege rather than a right,” Lacson said.
“Once abused, worse used to violate our laws, it gives the host country the right to take back that privilege,” he added.
Lacson also said he believes that the deportation case against Fox followed the right process.
“We treat our foreign visitors as our guests. We also reserve our right to terminate or take back that hospitality accorded to them,” he said.
“There are agencies in charge of determining all these, but due process must be observed in the withdrawal of such privilege which in her case, was followed,” he added. /ee