MANILA, Philippines — President Duterte reiterated Tuesday that as long as he will be allowed conjugal visits, he is not afraid to be detained even in a foreign land in connection with his administration’s war against illegal drugs.
Duterte said he can bear being in the detention cell, but not without women.
“Am willing to go to jail, wag lang walain ang (just don’t stop) conjugal visits. Do not limit it to one,” he said during his speech at the conference of the League of Municipalities-Visayas cluster.
A self-confessed womanizer, Duterte said he is ready to provide a list of women who could pay him visit in case he gets detained due to human rights-related issues over his drug war.
Duterte is separated from his wife, Elizabeth Zimmerman, with whom he has three children. He has publicly acknowledged partner Honeylet Avanceña and they have one daughter.
“I am not scared of going to jail. I am scared of getting lonely. Mamatay ka na lang (it’s better to die),” he said.
The 73-year-old chief executive has admitted in his public engagements that he has several girlfriends.
Duterte, however, has publicly manifested that his administration’s drug war is an attempt to save the next generation.
He even maintained that the International Criminal Court (ICC) cannot have jurisdiction over him. “Not in a million years,” he said.
Last Monday, Duterte stirred intrigue after he was seen spending time with a “beautiful woman” named Bernice – who turned out to be Bernice Victorio, an official of the Climate Change Commission.
She was seen in a Facebook live video posted by Presidential Special Assistant Christopher Go to dispute communist leader Jose Ma. Sison’s claim that Duterte is sick and had slipped into coma over the weekend.