Given the chance to meet President Rodrigo Durterte, Sister Patricia Fox said she would bring the people closer to the chief executive, not to make an appeal on the deportation order against her.
“Kung kakausapin ko ang Presidente, gusto ko kasama ko ang mga taga sector (If I were to talk to the President, I want my colleagues in the sector to be with me),” Fox said in an interview over Radyo Inquirer 990.
The 71-year-old Australian nun insisted that her mission in the Philippines is to help the neglected sectors of the country and to build solidarity among the people.
“Sila dapat ang kausapin niya at sila dapat ang magsalita. Kung pwede lang akong sumama sa kanila at sila magsalita (The people should talk to the President. I only want to accompany them but they should do the talking),” she said.
Fox said the issue here is the role of the church in promoting the welfare of farmers, workers, the indigenous people, and the urban poor. Missionaries then should be aware of their concerns and must do something for them.
“Sa papel ng simbahan, hindi lang doon sa simbahan. Dapat lumahok sa mga pagkilos ng tao. Bumabad sa buhay nila. Iyan ang misyon ko dito (The role of the church is not confined to church activities. We should be involved in people’s lives. That is my mission here),” she said.
Saying that her lawyers already filed a memorandum of reconsideration and counter affidavit to last Friday, Fox expressed hope that due process would be followed.
But if authorities would rule with finality that her deportation should be implemented, Fox said she would go back to a “peaceful” life, but she will cherish her fond memories of the Philippines and her friends here.
“Hindi ka dayuhan, Filipina ka. Yaan ang tumatak sa akin (You are not a foreigner, you are a Filipina. That was ingrained in me),” she said. /ee