Honeylet barred from visiting Duterte

MANILA, Philippines — Honeylet Avanceña, detained former president Rodrigo Duterte’s common-law wife, has been barred from visiting him inside the International Criminal Court (ICC) detention in The Hague.

In an interview posted on pro-Duterte vlogger Maharlika’s Boldyak TV YouTube page on Friday, Avanceña said the restriction was because she allegedly discussed the case with Duterte over a phone call on July 19.

Duterte’s chief legal counsel Nicholas Kaufman also confirmed the news in an interview posted on vlogger Alvin & Tourism’s Facebook page.

Avanceña denied the allegations, although she hinted of a possible disagreement on defense strategy for the jailed ex-leader.

“I have nothing against you (Kaufman), but please do not deprive us of asking other people… of asking legal opinions from other lawyers also, but we acknowledge you as his lawyer. However, if our positions were reversed and you were inside (the prison), what would your spouse do then?” an emotional Avanceña said.

Kaufman, for his part, remained mum on the issue.

“For judicial reasons and out of respect for family privacy, I am not going to comment on the veracity of Honeylet Avanceña’s allegations concerning her presence not being desired at the ICC detention center,” Kaufman said.

Former presidential spokesman and wanted fugitive Harry Roque has said that Avanceña’s last visit to Duterte was on July 23.

Meanwhile, Kaufman described Avanceña as “emotionally distressed” over her allegations against him but did not elaborate.

“Honeylet Avanceña, so it would appear, is emotionally distressed for reasons on which, as I mentioned previously, I cannot elaborate. As a consequence, she is making all sorts of wild allegations, which are being stoked by others. The simple fact of the matter is that the Vice President, as a lawyer herself, is fully qualified to judge the quality of my engagement with and work for the former president,” Kaufman added.

Kaufman also denied internal conflict within the supporters of the former president.

“There are absolutely no internal disagreements among the persons responsible for handling the former president’s defense. Harry Roque is an irrelevancy and, my only regret, is that I am being forced to spend far too much time having to deal with his comical intrigues. There are also absolutely no personal misunderstandings between those who are of importance to the former president,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman earlier said that the former president wanted Roque to stop interfering in the case before the ICC. Roque denied interfering in the crimes against humanity case faced by Duterte before the ICC.

Roque reportedly plans to sue the Dutch government and even approached a Dutch lawyer to help him, which Kaufman said was a “crazy scheme.”

Roque has been evading Philippine authorities and has been seeking asylum in the Netherlands following human trafficking charges over his involvement in a Philippine offshore gaming operator.

The Dutch lawyer severed contact with Roque after discovering that he is a fugitive, Kaufman said.