By Jun Ramirez
The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has ordered Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox to leave the country after it rejected her petition seeking for an extension of her temporary visitor’s visa.
GOODBYE, SISTER — Supporters and friends of Australian missionary nun, Sister Patricia Fox, bids her a tearful goodbye at a Thanksgiving Mass at St. Joseph College, Quezon City shortly before she departs for her home country on Nov. 3 after losing a long battle against deportation authorities. (Alvin Kasiban/ MANILA BULLETIN)
BI spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said the BI Board of Commissioners, in an order dated October 31, 2018, denied with finality Fox’s request to extend her stay in the country.
“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,” said Sandoval, stressing the law is clear that the entry of an alien in the country is a matter of privilege, and not a right.
It was recalled that Fox was the subject of a deportation order last July for violating the conditions of her stay due to her participation in partisan political activities which she never denied.
Sandoval explained that Fox’s participation in anti-government rallies did not fall within the ambit of the religious missionary visa given to her.
But Sandoval said the denial of Fox’s temporary visitor’s visa extension is without prejudice to her appeal to the Department of Justice to nullify her deportation.
“For now, she is required to exit the country before the expiry of her visa and has to wait for the DOJ's decision if she can still return to the Philippines,” she added.