Manila: A group of Filipino lawyers are appealing the government not to deport an 84-year-old Australian law professor, saying he needs to be medically cleared for being fit to travel.
“For humanitarian considerations, we pray that Mr. (Gill Hale) Boehringer’s exclusion order be immediately recalled, so he can be checked by a doctor and recuperate until he is fit to travel back home,” Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), said in a letter.
The ‘exclusion order’ Olalia was referring to pertains to directive issued by the Bureau of Immigrations last August 8, which states that Boehringer’s name is included in the list of foreigners prohibited from entering the Philippines.
The immigration placed Boehringer’s name on the blacklist for allegedly taking part in the 2015 demonstrations in Manila during the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC).
But Olalia said it would have been impossible for the elderly lawyer to take part in the protests. “Boehringer is being deported by the BI for participating in the 2015 anti-Apec rally in the Philippines, when he was not here at that time!” he said.
Boehringer was denied entry into the Philippines upon arriving at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 (NAIA-1) last Wednesday.
In a statement, Immigration Spokesperson Dana Krizia Sandoval said Boehringer was the subject of an order issued last year prohibiting Boehringer’s entry upon receipt of a report and recommendation for blacklisting from government intelligence sources.
“Inclusion in the blacklist means that the subject is a threat to public order and safety, and blacklisting minimises that risk,” clarified Sandoval.
The Australian had arrived on board China Southern Airlines from Guangzhou, China.
Boehringer’s age and physical condition was said to be precarious. He is supposedly suffering from thrombosis.
Sandoval also clarified that the octogenarian is not being held against his will by Philippine authorities. “We wish to dispel the notion that Mr. Boehringer is detained by BI,” said Sandoval. “Custody has been with the airline immediately upon exclusion, and he has been staying in the airline’s exclusion room pending his return flight, which is a decent room with basic furniture needed for a comfortable stay. Technically speaking, he has not entered the country,” she added.
She clarified that foreigners are afforded due process by allowing them to file a request for lifting to the Immigration Commissioner.
“If he submits sufficient proof to reverse the blacklist, it may be lifted accordingly,” Sandoval explained further.
Last July 19, another elderly Australian activist, Sister Patricia Anne Fox was ordered deported.
The Philippines has little tolerance on foreigners taking part in political activities in the country.
