Honeylet, Kitty fail to see Rody in The Hague

On the eve of former president Rodrigo Duterte's 80th birthday, his common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña and their daughter Veronica arrived in The Hague yesterday to pay him a visit in his cell, but were turned away.

- BELLA CARIASO

Avanceña and Veronica, nicknamed Kitty, arrived at 12 p.m. (The Hague time) and left at 1:55 p.m. after they were not allowed to enter the Scheveningen Prison, the detention center of the International Criminal Court (ICC) where the former president is awaiting trial for crimes against humanity.

The two ignored reporters waiting outside the prison complex, but gave an interview to one from the SMNI News owned by detained suspected child abuser and human trafficker Apollo Quiboloy.

"To all the Filipino communities around Europe, around the world, thank you very much for the support for me and my family… We are grateful to you. We hope you will not stop until former president Duterte will be able to return home,” Kitty said in the interview.

She also wished her father “good health” on his 80th birthday today.

“Hopefully he eats the food inside (the ICC detention center) and he will be more obedient,” Kitty said.