Sara Duterte commends father Rodrigo for not remarrying: 'Lahat sila ay pare-parehong girlfriend lang'
Vice President Sara Duterte commended her father, former president Rodrigo Duterte, for not remarrying after he split with her mother Elizabeth Zimmerman.
"Talino talaga 'tong si President Duterte. Hindi siya nag-asawa ulit," Sara said during the "Free Duterte Now" rally in Melbourne in Australia on June 22.
"Noong naghiwalay sila ng nanay ko, hindi siya nag-asawa ulit," the vice president said.
"Ngayon, wala sa kanila ang makapagsabi na siya ang pwedeng nagmamay-ari kay dating pangulong Rodrigo Duterte. Dahil lahat sila ay pare-parehong girlfriend lang," she added.
Sara also gave unsolicited advice to men.
"Kaya ang mga lalaki, kapag kayo ay pinalaya ng asawa ninyo, huwag na kayong mag-asawa ulit," she said.
Sara's pronouncements came three days after Kitty wrote in a now-expired Instagram Story about a certain individual that has formerly worked or has been associated with Rodrigo, who "has been making claims about the duties that they have performed for him."
"Some of the details even include trying to act as his partner, in order to gain access, and visit him to get information, to be used for some unkind purpose," Kitty said. "Do your 'friends' know about the inappropriate messages you sent PRRD? Well, your family does."
"To this certain individual, I am telling you that if my mother has been tolerating your behavior, I will not," she added.
Without being specific, Kitty noted that she isn't "blind" to Rodrigo's ways, claiming that none in their family has "tried to raise any facades acting like we are pure."
"I am old enough to comprehend his sentiments toward romantic partnerships and because I know him, I know who is fooling who," she said.
Going back to the "certain individual," Kitty noted that "this person was nowhere to be found" when Kitty and her mother, Honeylet Avanceña, were in The Hague for three weeks. Duterte has been there since March 12 amid his crimes against humanity case before the International Criminal Court. He was arrested at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on March 11 following a warrant of arrest issued by the ICC via the International Criminal Police Organization.
Rodrigo and Zimmerman married in 1973. They have three children together: Davao City 1st District Rep. Paolo Duterte, Sara, and incoming Davao City Vice Mayor Sebastian Duterte.
In 1998, Zimmerman filed a petition to nullify her marriage amid his serial cheating and was approved two years later.
Since their separation, Rodrigo had been living with Avanceña.
Rodrigo has been publicly open about his infidelity.
In 2021, he claimed to have two "wives," though it wasn't immediately clear if it was just a figure of speech.
“Dalawa nga ang asawa ko eh. Mismo ang sasakyan niyo may reserba ‘yan. Iyan, sasakyan ‘yan, tao pa kaya?” News5 quoted him as saying.
In 2017, Duterte took pride in having two to three girlfriends while still together with Zimmerman. He also noted that adultery shouldn't be an issue due to the Philippines having no divorce.
On March 28, broadcaster Ramon Tulfo, describing Rodrigo and himself as "best of friends," recalled the former president introducing him to his "girlfriends, who included a then agriculture undersecretary, a governor of a province, a local TV newscaster and a policewoman with a homely face."
