Private time for Rody, Honeylet, Kitty in HK

President Duterte yesterday spent some private time with his partner Honeylet Avanceña and their daughter Kitty in Hong Kong, a day before his meeting with the Filipino community in the special administrative region.

Duterte arrived in Hong Kong Thursday night, a day earlier than scheduled, from a two-day official visit in Cambodia, where he attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN.

His only public engagement in Hong Kong is his meeting with Filipino migrant workers and expatriates this afternoon at the Regal Airport Hotel, a schedule provided by Malacañang showed.

Presidential spokesman Ernesto Abella said Duterte was expected to have private time with Honeylet and Kitty during the first day of his two-day working visit to Hong Kong.

As this developed, a caption of a Malacañang photo sent to the media yesterday erroneously labeled Avanceña as the “First Lady” of Duterte.

The caption accompanied a photo release showing Avanceña and her daughter visiting the Kantha Bopha IV Children’s Hospital in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The photo was sent to media outlets minutes past 8 a.m.

“While President Duterte is attending the World Eco- nomic Forum on ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) 2017 at the Sokha Hotel, in Phnom Penh, Cambodia on May 11, 2017, his First Lady Honeylet and their daughter Veronica take time to show their compassion to the ailing children of the Kantha Bopha IV Children’s Hospital,” the caption read.

The Presidential Communications Operations Office resent the photos at around 1 p.m. with the caption describing Avanceña as Duterte’s long-time partner.

A month before he assumed office last year, Duterte said it would be better for him not to have a first lady. Duterte is separated from his wife Elizabeth Zimmerman but they remain on good terms.

In a press conference last Wednesday, Duterte said he was bringing with him Honeylet so she could take care of him. –