KITTY Duterte, daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte, shared a heartfelt Father’s Day tribute to her father on social media Sunday, expressing admiration for him as a parent, leader, and personal role model.
In a lengthy Facebook post, Kitty described her father as someone who is “not just feared, but loved,” and credited him for shaping her confidence, perspective, and emotional depth.
“Happy Father’s, my sweet, handsome, beloved dada Rods. You are someone to be celebrated every day of your life. No one could ever be on par with you as a person, as a father, and as a leader,” she wrote.
Kitty also recalled a moment during Duterte’s 80th birthday when her mother, Honeylet Avanceña, became emotional and told the former president: “Dili pa ko kakita’g laki pareba pima.” She called that statement “the truth,” describing her father as a rare figure whose presence brings people together.
She added that her mother helped instill humility in her, while Duterte constantly affirmed her worth through praise and poetic exchanges, something that shaped her love language.
“While my dear mama Booeylet would teach me to be humble and keep me grounded, you’d exhaust all the superlative adjectives on me, in all the positive ways… quite the explanation as to why my love language is words of affirmation,” she wrote.
Kitty also shared a story from her college years, when she told her father she wanted a different life path, one focused on building a family after graduation, rather than pursuing a high-profile career.
“You said, ‘Okay bak, just promise me you’ll finish college and after that, you can do whatever makes you happy. You only live once. If it is a great one, then once is enough.’”
She thanked her father for seeing her beyond titles and achievements and for simply wanting her to be happy.
“You were the only one who really saw me for me, thus wishing me eternal love and joy,” she said.
Ending her message with a declaration of unconditional love and admiration, she wrote: “I am not a Duterte for nothing. I am as much as you, as you are me. You are the other side of my mirror… How astounding it is that I get to call you my hero—not just because you’re my dada, but because you are the greatest one there is.”
In a separate Instagram post, Kitty shared a throwback photo with her father with the caption: “Ever so vivid on my mind—your wavy hair, curl on the right brow, bigger right eye, wider right alar base, deep nasolabial folds, contagious smile and now a much paler, olive tone. Until I see you again. Happy Dada’s Day.”
Rodrigo Duterte is currently under the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, Netherlands, as part of the investigation into the conduct of his administration’s war on drugs.
