No family reunion on Duterte birthday

FORMER president Rodrigo Duterte celebrated his 80th birthday in a detention cell in The Hague, with his partner and their daughter not allowed to see him. Honeylet Avanceña and Victoria "Kitty" Duterte were denied entry at the Scheveningen Prison, where Duterte is awaiting trial before the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity. Mother and daughter instead spent time with other Filipinos and supporters outside the prison. Another Duterte daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, said the family had limited time to see the former president due to their commitments. She said while she and her siblings were on good terms, the dynamic was different between their mothers, Honeylet and Duterte's legal wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman. Sara said she is not scheduled to visit their father but emphasized that Honeylet and Veronica would have all the time they could during their visit. The vice president had told reporters that Zimmerman, her mother, would join her in The Hague for the former president's birthday. The vice president said Zimmerman is no longer recognized as next of kin because her marriage to Duterte has been annulled. The next-of-kin privileges now belong to Duterte's children from his marriage to Zimmerman — Sara, along with her brothers, Paolo, the representative of Davao City's first district, and Sebastian, the mayor of Davao City. Kitty and Honeylet Avanceña are included in this group. Some of Duterte's friends have flown to The Hague. They include Sen. Robinhood Padilla, the national president of the Duterte-led political party PDP-Laban; former presidential spokesman Harry Roque; and former executive secretary Salvador Medialdea, who is recuperating in hospital after falling ill while visiting Duterte. In a video message from The Hague, Vice President Duterte greeted her father, whom she learned "resilience and courage." JAVIER JOE ISMAEL, FRANCO JOSE C. BAROÑA, CATHERINE S. VALENTE, RED MENDOZA, ARIC JOHN SY CUA AND ALLEN LIMOS