{"id":188361,"date":"2018-11-05T04:58:19","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T09:58:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=188361"},"modified":"2018-11-05T04:58:19","modified_gmt":"2018-11-05T09:58:19","slug":"palace-fox-no-reign-tyranny-strict-law-enforcement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2018\/11\/05\/palace-fox-no-reign-tyranny-strict-law-enforcement\/","title":{"rendered":"Palace to Fox: No ‘reign of tyranny’, only strict law enforcement"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
\u201cWell, she was a violator, that\u2019s precisely why she departed from this country. But that is not to say that we are not thankful of her services,\u201d Panelo said. (File Photo<\/a>: Office of the Presidential Spokesperson\/Facebook<\/a>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— Malaca\u00f1ang on Monday rejected claims made by Australian missionary nun Patricia Fox of a \u201creign of terror and tyranny\u201d in the Philippines under President Rodrigo R. Duterte due to the rising number of alleged human rights abuses in the country.<\/p>\n

Fox, who returned to Australia on Sunday, faces a deportation order for violating the conditions of her stay and for undesirability, due to her alleged participation in partisan political activities.<\/p>\n

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo explained that there is a \u201creign of fear\u201d in the Philippines for violators of the law and not a \u201creign of terror and tyranny\u201d as Fox described.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerhaps what she refers to is a reign of fear on the part of those who violate the law. They know for a fact that there is a reign of strict enforcement of the law against violators of the law,\u201d Panelo said in a Palace briefing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no reign of terror and tyranny in the Philippines. There is only a reign of fear in the minds and hearts of those who violated the law. They are terrified that the law is finally running after them. What we have is a reign of strict enforcement of laws,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Panelo described Fox as a \u201cviolator\u201d herself although noted that the Palace was still grateful for her almost three-decades worth of services working with laborers, farmers, and the urban poor.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, she was a violator, that\u2019s precisely why she departed from this country. But that is not to say that we are not thankful of her services,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we have said, we are grateful for the good deeds she has performed. But that will not exempt her from the punishment imposed by law arising from violations of the same,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Panelo reiterated that all foreigners who stay as journalists in the country do not have political rights, and that includes the freedom of expression.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey cannot be joining rallies and join the mass action and speak against the government \u2013 they cannot do that. They should be first become citizens of the land to enjoy such rights,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

He further said that Fox\u2019s departure should serve as a \u201ctimely reminder\u201d for those foreigners that \u201cthey do not enjoy the same political rights as the citizens of the land.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou cannot rally against the government \u2013 that is one. You cannot join political parties \u2013 that\u2019s another. You cannot be speaking on radio and television attacking the government, that\u2019s another,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

Panelo, meanwhile, said Fox is still entitled to her own opinion while she remains in her own country.<\/p>\n

Fox left Philippines after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) earlier denied her application to extend her temporary visitor\u2019s visa.<\/p>\n

Her missionary visa expired on Sept. 5 but was given a temporary visitor\u2019s visa with a 59-day validity or until November 3.<\/p>\n

\u201cSister Fox will leave the Philippines with a clear conscience that she has done nothing wrong and illegal during her 27 years of stay in the country. She is and will always be loved by the Filipino people,\u201d a statement from Fox\u2019s camp read.<\/p>\n

\u201cSister Pat will continue her missionary and human rights work wherever she may be. She will continue to stand for the oppressed and speak about injustices against the Filipino people,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

Support for drug war<\/strong><\/p>\n

Citing survey results, Panelo said 69 percent or a sizeable majority of Filipinos acknowledge the efforts of the current administration to eradicate the problem of illegal drugs in the country as its most important achievement.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese figures immediately repudiate Sister Fox\u2019s misplaced, if not offensive, remarks towards our country,\u201d Panelo said.<\/p>\n

He further described Fox as a \u201cclassic case of an in-appreciative tourist who saw nothing good and complained about the country which graciously extended hospitality.\u201d<\/p>\n

Panelo also stressed that the Duterte administration continues to adhere to the rule of law despite what human rights groups and critics say.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe President follows the command of the Constitution for him to enforce the laws of the land regardless of who is involved. Let no person, therefore, take lightly the President’s duty to serve and protect the people,\u201d Panelo said.\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— Malaca\u00f1ang on Monday rejected claims made by Australian missionary nun Patricia Fox of a \u201creign of terror and tyranny\u201d …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":187138,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-188361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-azer-parrocha","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=188361"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/188361\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/187138"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=188361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=188361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=188361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}