Australian nun Patricia Fox forced to leave Philippines after angering President Rodrigo Duterte
- Fox apparently angered the fiery president by joining a fact-finding mission to investigate alleged abuses against farmers
- She vowed to return to the country if allowed to resume her 27 years of missionary work for the poor
An Australian nun who angered the Philippine president by joining anti-government protests used her final hours in the country to call on Filipinos to unite and fight human rights abuses.
Sister Patricia Fox left the Philippines for Australia on Saturday night. The Bureau of Immigration ordered her deported in July, put her on a blacklist and then downgraded her missionary visa to a temporary visitor’s visa, which expired Saturday.
President Rodrigo Duterte has bristled at criticism of his leadership, particularly by foreigners like Fox, who he says have no right to meddle in Philippine domestic affairs.
Most of the criticism has focused on his bloody anti-drug campaign, which has left thousands dead, alarmed Western governments and rights groups and prompted two complaints of mass murder before the International Criminal Court.
“At present in the Philippines the human rights abuses are just increasing and it’s a reign of terror and tyranny,” Fox told reporters after arriving at Melbourne airport on Sunday.
During a farewell news conference in a Catholic school before leaving for the Manila airport with a convoy of supporters, the 71-year-old Fox called on Filipinos to speak up and help the marginalised fight to gain land, houses and jobs.