An elderly Australian nun who lost a long legal battle with Manila to stop her deportation attacked President Rodrigo Duterte’s “reign of tyranny” as she returned home Sunday.
Sister Patricia Fox, who spent almost three decades working with Philippine laborers, farmers and urban poor, was accused of illegally engaging in political activism as Duterte’s administration cracked down on foreign critics on its soil.
READ: Fox leaves Philippines, loses bid for visa extension
The 71-year-old apparently angered the fiery president by joining a fact-finding mission in April to investigate alleged abuses against farmers, including killings and evictions by soldiers fighting guerrillas in Mindanao.
Welcomed by supporters at Melbourne airport, Fox told reporters she was happy to be home but had found it hard to leave.
“At present, the Philippines, the human rights abuses are just increasing and it is a reign of tyranny at present,” Fox said.
“There has been a culture of impunity for a long time and it is getting worse.”
Vice President Leni Robredo paid tribute to Fox, saying she was “more Filipino than many of us” for serving the poor.
“It is sad to think that a non-Filipino like her who has dedicated her life for 27 years just to help the poor [is now leaving],” she said.
“It saddens [me] that she was asked to leave. She is even more Filipino than many of us,” she added.
Robredo expressed disappointment over the grounds for Fox’s departure.
“It is sad to think politics is the reason behind. It is sad that she has to pay the price to speak out,” she said.
She said she believes Fox could still have the chance to return to the Philippines to pursue her mission to help the Filipino people.
READ: Australian nun to leave, visa extension denied
Fox had been arrested briefly on charges of violating her visa’s terms against activism in the Philippines and the slow turning wheels of the country’s bureaucracy began moving to strip her of her papers.
Immigration authorities last week refused to extend her tourist visa and ordered the 71-year-old out by Saturday.
She decided to return to Australia rather than risk being forcibly removed.
Church figures have previously criticized Duterte’s policies, particularly his signature war on drugs that has left almost 5,000 people dead since he took office in 2016.
Human rights groups charge that the actual death toll is about five times that total.
