‘13’ or ‘27’ lovers? Rodrigo Duterte kisses goodbye to his womanising days

His son, Paolo Duterte, has told his father’s ‘girlfriends’ to ‘look for somebody else’ after visiting the former president at The Hague

Former president Rodrigo Duterte, a self-proclaimed womaniser, once bragged that he had a wife, a second wife and at least two girlfriends. Now, in The Hague facing a war crimes trial that could see him sentenced up to 30 years in jail, the 80-year-old has some advice for the women in his life.

“To all his girlfriends – look for somebody else. Somebody with plenty of credit cards,” his son, Congressman Paolo Duterte, told supporters in The Hague on Monday, relaying the patriarch’s words after visiting him at the ICC.

How many women Duterte was bidding farewell to remains unclear. Paolo claimed to know of “13” in Davao City alone.

A source who knew Duterte well told This Week in Asia on condition of anonymity that there were “at least 27” women. “That’s my count,” the source said. “He has lots of illegitimate children.”

The women have become a new source of turmoil for the Duterte clan. Several have travelled to the Netherlands in recent weeks, hoping to see him, only to be denied access, fuelling an exchange of accusations among his extended family and diehard supporters.

‘Unkind purpose’

In an Instagram post on June 20, Duterte’s youngest daughter Veronica “Kitty”, 20, berated a person she said had been trying to get close to her father.

Without revealing a name or gender, she lambasted the person’s “audacity”, saying the person “has been making claims about the duties that they have performed for him”, including “trying to act as his partner, in order to gain access and visit him to get information, to be used for some unkind purpose”.

Her post set off a flurry of speculation among Duterte’s followers. One name mentioned online was Joyleen “Girlie” Balaba, the 52-year-old Cagayan de Oro councillor. Another was Jasmin “Jasy” Egan, a former presidential palace protocol officer. Both recently flew to The Hague, but they were not allowed inside the facility to meet Duterte.

Nuelle Duterte, a psychiatrist and niece of the former president, told This Week in Asia that “Girlie Balaba was an open secret in Davao City, we all knew that she was one of his girlfriends. I saw her once in a local hospital in Davao City when I was a medical student. She was pointed out to me as ‘Digong’s [Rodrigo’s] girlfriend’.”

Rodrigo Duterte has been coy on the matter. When his son Paolo asked him about Egan, the patriarch reportedly replied he had no “relation” with her. The congressman recounted his father glibly saying: “They’re not cousins, they’re not siblings, so there’s no relation.”

Meanwhile, Balaba appeared to have received support from Duterte’s daughter and Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio. The Bilyonaryo news channel has reported that Sara met Balaba at The Hague. Sara has previously called Balaba “mommy”, according to a report by Politiko.

‘Fine ladies’

Not even his immediate family members seem to agree on the number of women in Duterte’s life.

While Paolo mentioned 13, his brother and Davao’s acting mayor Sebastian, 37, said there were only four: Duterte’s former wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman, his current partner Cielito “Honeylet” Avancena, Balaba and Egan.

In a Facebook post, Sebastian called them “sem sem but difalem [same but different]”. “All of these fine ladies touched the life and heart of my father. No one is above or below the other, including my mother. It is what it is.”

Sara said last month that her father was “smart” because “when he separated from my mother, he didn’t marry again … And therefore, now, nobody can claim Rodrigo Duterte because they’re just all equally girlfriends.”

While it is unclear who Sara was referring to in her message, many Filipinos have expressed surprise that Avancena declined to accompany Duterte to The Hague when he was arrested in Manila’s airport on March 11.

Resources and legitimacy

Manolo Quezon, a historian and political analyst, told This Week in Asia that what was playing out now “is a reflection of a contest over two things: resources and legitimacy”.

Duterte married Elizabeth Zimmerman, now 77, in 1973 and they annulled their union in 1998. The couple had three children: Paolo, Sara and Sebastian. He also has a relationship with former beauty contestant Cielito “Honeylet” Avancena. The 55-year-old is Duterte’s common-law wife, and they have one child, Kitty.

Quezon said the foremost question about the Duterte clan was: “Of his two families, the one from his former wife and the one with his live-in partner, who calls the shots and as importantly, signs the checks? Who speaks for the old man and who is the real successor of the old man?”

Rommel Lopez, a journalist and communication professor at Holy Cross of Davao College, told This Week in Asia: “I won’t be surprised if right now, they are fighting for Duterte’s spoils.”

During Duterte’s presidency, “Honeylet and Bong Go [Duterte’s aide and currently senator] controlled who could get access, even his own children from his ex-wife couldn’t get an appointment unless approved by the two”, Lopez said.

Complicating matters is all the other women in Duterte’s life. He has publicly spoken about his womanising ways. Running for president in 2015, he told supporters in a concert: “[You say] we hear you’re a womaniser – that’s correct, I have a wife and a second wife.” He also revealed: “I also have two girlfriends. You want me to be president? You need to know my character.”

Narcissistic personality

According to a biography book about the ex-president, Beyond Will and Power, when his marriage was annulled, Duterte was made to take a psychological test, which revealed that he was “psychologically incapacitated to handle essential marital obligations … suffering from narcissistic personality disorder with aggressive features with his gross indifference, insensitivity and self-centredness”.

In an Instagram post, Kitty Duterte wrote: “I am not blind to my father’s ways. In fact, none of us in the family have tried to raise any facades, acting like we are pure. I am old enough to comprehend his sentiments toward romantic partnerships.”

After Duterte became president in 2016, online critics started mocking him by calling him Mang Kanor, the name of a randy ageing man in an adult movie.

Quezon told This Week in Asia that the term probably did not dent Duterte’s appeal.

“It’s like calling him an old goat, an admiring term of endearment over his demonstrating virility and thus not only prowess, but paramount status.”

Being a womaniser had never harmed the image of any Philippine president, Quezon said.

“It is only harmful if the leader is viewed to be weak – easily under the influence of a woman or women.”