Duterte shares ‘hugot’ with OFWs in Tokyo: Ako nang iniwan, ako pang nagsustento

President Rodrigo Duterte on Tuesday said he was upset with husbands who leave their wives and families, and then refuse to give them financial support.

In contrast, Duterte said his wife left him and yet he still continued to give her support.

“Ako ang iniwan, ako pa ang nagsusutento. Baliktad,” Duterte said before members of the Filipino community that gathered for him in Tokyo.

Duterte's marriage with Elizabeth Zimmerman was annulled in 2000.

“Itong mga unggoy na ito, iniiwan ang mga asawa, sumama sa mga bata, ayaw pa magsustento. Ang nangyari sa buhay ko, iniwan ako ng asawa ko, ako ang nagsusustento hanggang ngayon," Duterte said.

"Okay lang, hindi ba?” he added.

Duterte made the remarks as he told Filipino migrants about the anti-corruption text line that he has set up for complaints that will be aired on PTV-4.

He raised the possibility of government employees being the subjects of abandonment complaints.

"Ganoon ang mga ulol na iyan eh. Iyan ang ayaw ko diyan eh. Mag-iwan ng asawa," Duterte said.

Duterte and Zimmerman married in 1973.

She filed for an annulment in 1998. It was approved by the Regional Trial Court in Pasig in 2000.

Despite the annulment, they decided to remain friends.

Zimmerman is the mother of Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio, and Sebastian Duterte.

She was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2015.

But this did not stop her from campaigning for her former husband through the Byaheng Du30 caravan with her daughter Sara.

Duterte also has a common-law wife, Honeylet Avanceña. They have a 12-year-old daughter, Veronica or fondly called Kitty by her family.

The President also told his Filipino audience how both Zimmerman and Avanceña were present during his inauguration.

"Patawa ito, pero pasaway... Noong ako nag-oath ako president Pilipinas. Yung asawa kong No. 1 nandito, yung No. 2 nandito. Saan ka nakakita ng ganoong style?" Duterte said, drawing laughter.

"There are things which you cannot avoid in life but you have to be fair," he added. —NB, GMA News