‘Not for sale’: Rody Duterte bars use of life story for profit

MANILA, Philippines — Former president Rodrigo Duterte’s life story is not for sale, his common-law wife Honeylet Avanceña said.

“He told me to talk to his four children and tell them to never sell his life story as he said he never did it even when he was a mayor,” Avanceña said in a chance interview in The Hague.

“He said that I should issue a disclaimer on a book about him sold online as it would make it appear that we are selling it. We don’t have earnings from that,” she added.

Actor Philip Salvador had offered to produce a film about Duterte back when he was Davao City mayor, she recalled.

“He never wanted it, not for any amount of money. He told me to set dinner for his four children to tell them that his life story is for them only,” she said.

Avanceña said she brought Fanta, chips and Gatorade when she visited Duterte in his detention cell.

Duterte’s supporters will gather anew in The Hague and call for his release on Sunday, which will coincide with Father’s Day.