An Australian missionary nun facing deportation from the Philippines has talked about her involvement in an international investigation into extra-judicial killings in the south of the country.
"We interviewed people in relation to 27 killings during the past year," 71-year-old Sister Patricia Fox told AAP.
"A lot of the deaths are related to land issues."
Sister Fox, from the Sisters of Our Lady of Sion, was arrested on April 16 and detained for 22 hours for purportedly being involved in partisan political protests.
Her comments follow claims by rights' activists of military links to the violence.
The investigation is due to release findings in early May.
Meanwhile, Sister Fox plans in the coming week to file a motion against an order for her to leave the country by May 25 as well as a counter-affidavit to the revoking of her missionary visa.
The action against Sister Fox, who has been in the Philippines since 1990, comes amid a wider clampdown on critics of President Rodrigo Duterte.
Sister Fox welcomed supportive comments from the representative of the Philippines to the United Nations, Teddy Locsin.
"This is wrong and brings shame to our country," Locsin said.
"Now we are afraid of an old nun. What does that say about national stability?"
Sister Fox told AAP it would not be "wise" for her to comment on the role of President Duterte in the killing of thousands of people in a so-called war against drugs.
However, she noted there had also been a rise in the killing of farmers and indigenous people, often related to the expansion of largely foreign controlled mines and agricultural plantations.
The international investigation of killings on the southern island of Mindanao was concentrated in the Davao area, where Duterte was a longtime mayor allegedly linked to summary killings.
From April 6 to 9, the investigators, including Sister Fox, conducted interviews over the latest wave of deaths.
Asked what she would say to President Duterte, she replied, "That I would like to stay."
She wished to continue her non-politically partisan missionary work in support of "justice, peace and love".
Sister Fox expressed gratitude for support she has received from within the Philippines as well as in Australia and elsewhere.
