MANILA — The counsel of Australian nun Patricia Fox said it is the prerogative of President Rodrigo R. Duterte to order the arrest of the Catholic nun, who was apprehended by Bureau of Immigration (BI) personnel on Monday for being an undesirable alien.
“We don’t have personal knowledge about it (Duterte’s statement) and if that is the case that is his prerogative. We respect his prerogative,” said lawyer Jobert Pahilga.
“We cannot do something about it, if he said that he ordered it. Then so be it. We will just prove that Sister Pat did not commit any disorderly conduct that would make her an undesirable alien through the investigation in the Bureau,” he added.
Pahilga said that the BI has the right to issue mission orders but it should be properly implemented.
“The BI has the right to issue mission orders the problem is the matter of implementation. They should have not arrested Sister Pat, they should have conducted questioning and investigation first, because at the time of her arrest she did not commit a crime,” he said.
“Anyway that is the prerogative of the president, being the president. I suppose there is no more need for him to issue an order to investigate Sister Pat because there is already an on going investigation being conducted by the BI,” he added.
On Monday, Fox was arrested and detained at the BI office in Manila, where she stayed overnight.
She was ordered released the next day after the BI established that she holds a valid missionary visa and a properly documented alien.
Fox was apprehended following reports that she violated the conditions of her stay by engaging in political activities and anti-government demonstrations. (Ferdinand Patinio/PNA)
