Rodrigo Duterte, Who Bristles at Foreign Critics, Has Begun Deporting Them

MANILA — President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines, who has chafed at overseas criticism of his strongman style since he was elected to office in 2016, has overseen the deportation or detention of two foreign critics in recent days, taking personal responsibility for the arrest of a 71-year-old Australian nun.

“It was not the military who arrested this nun, the Catholic nun from Australia,” Mr. Duterte told an audience of soldiers on Wednesday. “It was upon my orders, implemented by the Bureau of Immigration. And I take full responsibility, legal or otherwise, for this incident.”

The nun, Patricia Fox, a longtime Philippines resident, has been an activist for many years and has joined rallies against Mr. Duterte’s bloody crackdown on drugs, which has left thousands of Filipinos dead. She was detained Monday at her house in Manila after visiting the southern island of Mindanao, which has been under martial law for almost a year.

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