- Duterte’s common-law wife Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña opens up on her partner
- She says Duterte talks tough and had to be tough to deal with Davao City’s problems
- She also says Duterte is not a dictator or a chauvinist, is deeply loved by Davao
MANILA, Philippines – With the 2016 elections ever drawing nearer, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s common-law wife Cielito “Honeylet” Avanceña’s life as a private citizen has gradually eroded.
Not that she minds.
Taking up the cudgels for her partner in a family reunion organized by the Laurel clan, Avanceña revealed a little bit more about the man behind the tough-talking persona.
Among others, she said Duterte in reality was far from the no-holds-barred, guns-blazing rogue his detractors make him out to be and explained he had to be tough to deal with Davao City’s issues as mayor.
“He reads the Bible before leaving the house and if he toughs talk, that’s because he has to get things done, like when policemen were being shot and killed. Actually, he hates public speaking,” Manila Bulletin quoted her as saying.
She added if Duterte was really a dictator as asserted by his critics, then he wouldn’t be as loved and admired by the people of Davao City.
As for his reputation of being a womanizer, Avanceña brushed it off and said she would have left him a long time ago if he really was one.
“I challenged him to a separation just in case he had another girlfriend, but he didn’t accept it. He’s really friendly with women and it is them who approach him. Even guys take selfies with him, even gays. He’s not handsome, but he has this charisma,” she said; adding that Duterte’s respect for women can be plainly seen in Davao City’s pro-women programs and the number of female officials in the city’s administration.
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