By Genalyn Kabiling She may be living with the country's most powerful government official, but businesswoman Cielito "Honeylet" Avanceña has grown to be financially independent over the years. President Rodrigo Roa Duterte and his partner Cielito "Honeylet" Avanceña.
(TOTO LOZANO / PRESIDENTIAL PHOTO / MANILA BULLETIN) The President recently bared that his long-time partner has attained financial independence due to her entrepreneurial skills. Duterte, addressing an assembly of overseas Filipino workers at Camp Aguinaldo in Quezon City last Friday, said Honeylet used her savings as a former overseas Filipino worker to set up some businesses, and eventually became rich. "I’d like you to know my --- my wife is an OFW, too. Pareho rin ninyo . She was away for four years. Nag-ipon ng pera ," he said during a thanksgiving event for OFWs. "At when she came back, ‘yung bahay namin ngayon, nakabili siya ng housing. Housing project lang. It’s near downtown but kanyang pagod ‘yan. Bili siya ng bahay at nagkaroon ng konting pera ," he said. Duterte admitted that Honeylet, who reportedly runs a meat shop and a donut franchise, no longer relies on him for money. "Mayaman na siya ngayon. Ewan ko gaano kayaman. Ayaw naman sabihin. But she has already established an independent --- iba ‘yung sa akin na… Hindi na siya umaasa ," he said. The President previously described Honeylet as his true love. They have a 15-year-old daughter named Veronica, also known as Kitty.