An Australian activist barred from the Philippines says his week-long detention at Manila airport is another example of President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign to silence foreigners critical of the country.
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NSW law professor Gill Boehringer arrived back in Sydney on Wednesday morning vowing to fight his "blacklisting" partly because his wife lives in the Philippines and they're now separated.
The 84-year-old was barred from entering the Philippines on August 8 with the government arguing he was on a Bureau of Immigration blacklist because he attended a rally in the country in November 2015.
His Filipino lawyer, Maria Sol Taule, is fighting to get his name off the blacklist.
Prof Boehringer's arrival home coincided with his one-year wedding anniversary with the academic saying he's worried he won't be allowed back into the "dangerous and troubled" country where his wife remains.
"President Duterte is determined to keep me out ... it's part of this campaign to silence people," he told AAP at Sydney Airport.
"His statements are in support of and even provoke human rights violation."
The academic said the government was targeting "well-meaning people" such as Australian nun Sister Patricia Fox who earlier this year was issued a deportation order for her involvement in human rights protests.
Prof Boehringer wants Canberra to do more for Australians who've been targeted.
Asked whether there should be sanctions he said: "They really need to do something that hurts the people who are doing these things and allowing them to happen."
A DFAT spokeswoman told AAP "the decision on who can enter the Philippines is a matter solely for the Philippine government".
The specific Bureau of Immigration blacklist seen by AAP lists three Australians including Prof Boehringer.
They are among 28 names on the document dated November 2017.
It states they pose a public risk and are visiting the Philippines to conduct "massive protest action".
The activists' alleged participation in the 2015 rally violated an order "prohibiting foreigners from engaging in political activities in the Philippines," the bureau says.
Prof Boehringer insists the allegations are inaccurate and "preposterous".
He says the Philippines has become a "very dangerous" place with dozens of lawyers, journalists and environmentalists murdered in addition to the thousands killed by police during the president's brutal war on drugs.
"About two dozen lawyers have been killed under Duterte so maybe they did me a favour ... I might have been a target," he said.
Human rights group Action for Peace and Development in the Philippines, of which Prof Boehringer is a member, condemned his detention.
Chairman Peter Brock - who has known the law professor for eight years - said he was a "true champion" for human rights and justice.
Mr Brock noted while Prof Boehringer was detained he told his supporters he was "doing it easy compared to the thousands locked up in appalling conditions around the Philippines".
Australian Associated Press