An Australian nun whose missionary visa in the Philippines was revoked after the president complained about her joining opposition rallies says social advocacy and human rights are part of church teachings.
The Immigration Bureau gave Sister Patricia Fox 30 days to leave the Philippines after President Rodrigo Duterte ordered an investigation into the 71-year-old as an "undesirable" foreigner over what it called her partisan political activities.
Fox is a co-ordinator of an order of Roman Catholic nuns called Notre Dame de Sion and has been working with the Filipino poor for almost 30 years.
She has joined rallies critical of Duterte and his government, which has been criticised for waging a brutal war on illegal drugs that left thousands of mostly urban poor suspects dead and for stifling dissent.
"This isn't just my fight. It's like the attack ... on the whole church, the role of the church, the role of foreign missionaries, the role of human rights workers," Fox told a news conference on Thursday.
She said part of her wants to leave but she also realises that "there are principles here that you have to fight for."
"I don't regret it (getting involved in social advocacies) and I think what makes me not regret it is how grateful I am for the people who came out because they're the people I've been working with for a long time," Fox said.
Although she could possibly return on a tourist visa, Fox said "it's hard to continue the missionary work if you're just a tourist because, number one, we're not tourists, we're nuns. We were assigned here to the congregation not as tourists."
Jobert Pahilga, a lawyer for the nun, said on Wednesday he would file a motion for reconsideration of the government's order.
"She has not participated in any partisan activity. She is a nun."
Australian Associated Press
