Published: 9:30am, 4 Jul 2025Updated: 9:38am, 4 Jul 2025
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.
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“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’