Hours before her departure from the country, Australian missionary Sister Patricia Fox said on Saturday that she still did not know why President Rodrigo Duterte hated her so much.
“Hanggang ngayon hindi ko alam kung bakit si Digong ay ayaw sa ‘kin,” she said in a press conference after a predeparture Mass celebrated fro her at St. Joseph’s College in Quezon City.
(Until now, I still don’t know why Digong doesn’t like me.)
“Kahit ako halos hindi nakikita, di ko alam kung paano nakarating sa kanya,” she added, possibly referring to her grass-roots activities.
(Even me, who is not even constantly visible, I don’t know how it reached him.)
Sister Patricia Fox. Photo by Ryan Leagogo/INQUIRER.net
Fox is set to leave the country on Saturday night after the Bureau of Immigration (BI) issued her deportation order.
Fox worked for 27 years as a missionary fighting for justice with farmers and the poor. WIth this, she urged Duterte to listen to the sentiments of the lower class.
“Dati pa sinabi ko, sana nakikinig siya ng mga daing ng mga maliliit na tao, hindi lang ang militar, hindi lang ang mga business people, pero ang mga magsasaka, mga manggagawa, ang mga katutubo,” she said.
(I have said it before, he should have listened to the sentiments of the ordinary people, not only the military, not only the business people, but the farmers, laborers, the natives.)
Fox also said that she got disappointed on how people follow the order of Duterte, citing the deportation case issued against her by the BI.
“Alam mo ba ang disappointment ko ay madaming mga sumunod sa kanya. Halimbawa sa BI, basta sinabi niya, gagawin nila miski na walang legal basis,” she said.
(You know what my disappointment is: A lot of people followed him. For example at the BI, when he said it they will heed it even if there is no legal basis.)
“Kaya hindi lang siya. I think may sistema na hindi… na walang integrity,” she added.
(So, it is not just him, I think there is a system that has no integrity.) /jpv