Duterte wants activist nun deported

The Philippines has issued a fresh deportation order for an elderly Australian nun who angered President Rodrigo Duterte, as her lawyers pledged to block her expulsion.

Sister Patricia Fox, 71, has been accused of illegally engaging in political activism as the government cracks down on foreign critics on its soil.

“We find Fox Patricia Anne, Australian national, in violation of the limitations and conditions of [the Philippines immigration law] and order her deportation to Australia,” said the government order on Thursday, shown to AFP by her lawyers.

Duterte has supported Fox’s removal. He ordered her arrest in April and previously said he wanted her investigated for “disorderly conduct”.

Fox, who has been living in the Philippines since 1990, drew the president’s wrath after joining a fact-finding mission in April to investigate alleged abuses against farmers, including killings and evictions by soldiers fighting guerrillas.

In June her deportation was halted when justice secretary Menardo Guevarra said immigration authorities used the wrong procedure to expel her.

Fox’s lawyers told AFP they plan to appeal the new deportation order within the next few days.