World

Australian nun Patricia Fox ordered to leave Philippines again

14:23 pm on 20 July 2018

Australian nun Patricia Fox has again been ordered to leave the Philippines after angering President Rodrigo Duterte.

Sister Patricia, 71, has lived in the Philippines for 27 years.

Photo: AFP

In April, Mr Duterte accused Sister Patricia of disorderly conduct and called her an undesirable alien.

The deportation order accuses Sister Patricia of openly and actively participating in activities such as rallies, press conferences and fact-finding missions which violated the terms and conditions of her missionary visa.

The Bureau of Immigration approved the deportation order on Thursday, concluding she had "violated the condition and limitations of her missionary visa".

It also ordered Sister Patricia be put on the bureau's "Blacklist, thus barring her re-entry into the country".

Sister Patricia has long spoken up for the rights of workers, farmers and students in the Philippines, and says the role of the religious is to be with people who are suffering.

Last month, the Philippines Department of Justice nullified a previous order to deport the nun.

A spokeswoman for Sister Patricia's solidarity group, Nadhja Deera, said the nun plans to appeal the latest decision.

Ms Deera said she believed Sister Patricia has until Monday or Tuesday to lodge an appeal against the order.

'I don't want to leave here'

Speaking to the ABC's 7.30 program in April, not long after her first deportation order, Sister Patricia said she would be "very sad" if she was ultimately deported.

She said she was overwhelmed by the amount of support she had from people in the Philippines.

"I was surprised how many people came out. Urban poor farmers. I had all these church people come and visit me," she said.

"They clearly don't think I'm walking all over the Philippines."

"When they [supporters] come out and support you, they make you want to be here.

- ABC