Philippines’ Rodrigo Duterte wants to keep Davao house for sentimental reasons

Former Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte has stepped in to defuse a potential family feud over his Davao City house that was put up for sale, saying he is unwilling to offload the property due to its sentimental value.

Duterte’s partner Honeylet Avancena said she was seeking buyers for the residence, citing her emotional concerns ever since the Davao mayor was held in a detention centre in The Hague over his charges linked to his war on drugs, in which thousands of purported dealers and users were killed.

“It hurts my chest every time I go inside. I’m the only one who enters now. There are four house helpers, but no master,” Avancena told radio station DZRH.

“We abandoned it after what happened. I cannot sleep there any more because the lawyers asked us to install CCTV even inside the bedroom.”

A “for sale” sign was seen in front of the house over the weekend, but it later disappeared.

Paolo Duterte, the ex-leader’s lawmaker son, said the home was the first his father bought with his own money, and he “doesn’t want to let it go”.