The Bureau of Immigration (BI) arrested a 71-year-old Australian Catholic nun on Monday over an “undesirable alien charges.”
Sister Patricia Fox, a missionary of the Our Lady of Sion, was apprehended Monday afternoon by six BI agents at their mission house in Quezon City.
Fox’s arrest was confirmed by BI spokesperson Antonette Mangrobang but no further details were provided.
“We await completion of the investigation and submission of findings of inquest prosecutor before we issue our official statement,” Mangrobang said.
Fox said she was never questioned by authorities in the numerous times she has been coming in and out of the country, adding that “the immigration bureau has not said anything on what to do with her missionary visa.”
According to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the nun has helped farmers and indigenous people in the country for 27 years.
It added that her arrest raised alarm to church people, including Manila Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo who said that her arrest might be linked to the Duterte administration’s drug war as Fox is a known advocate for human rights.
According to CBCP, Fox took part in an international fact-finding and solidarity mission that investigated alleged rights abuses against farmers and Lumads in Mindanao.
(DAILY NEWS ROUND UP FOR 04/ 17/18)