Avanceña first met Rodrigo Duterte shortly after she participated in the 1988 Mutya ng Dabawpageant where she finished as first runner-up.[3] Avanceña worked as a nurse in the United States for four years.[4] She returned to Davao shortly after her daughter Veronica was born in 2004.[5]
Prior to Duterte's presidency, Avanceña ran several businesses in Davao: a meat shop, a canteen catering service, and 11 Mister Donut franchises.[5]
Role in Duterte's presidency
Shortly after the inauguration of her partner as president, Avanceña was not named as First Lady. Her stepdaughter Sara was proposed to fulfill the role instead[6] but declined the offer.[7][8]
^Vanzi, Sol (June 26, 2016). "Duterte's women". Manila Bulletin. Archived from the original on July 2, 2016. Retrieved June 29, 2016. Although Duterte has announced that his official First Lady will be his daughter Sara, Honeylet will be keeping house for the President, wherever he decides to stay.
^Alconaba, Nico (May 11, 2016). "Mayor Sara turns down first lady job". Inquirer Mindanao. Retrieved July 19, 2016. The country's next President still has no first lady after Sara Duterte-Carpio, daughter of presumptive President Rodrigo Duterte, turned down the offer.
^"Duterte's families arrive separately in Malacañang". GMA News. June 30, 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2016. During the campaigns, Duterte had said that he was planning to name Inday Sara as his First Lady, but she begged off citing her responsibilities in Davao City.
^Ranada, Pia (July 1, 2017). "The evolution of Duterte's First Lady: Honeylet Avanceña". Rappler. Avanceña has been taking on so many tasks usually given to first ladies that even Palace photographers and captioners mistakenly called her "First Lady" in a photo release. Within hours, the Palace sent an email correcting the caption, replacing the title with "longtime partner."
1 Married after their spouse's presidency 2 Died prior to their spouse's presidency 3 Marriage annulled prior to spouse's presidency. 4 Unmarried domestic partner* Benigno Aquino III was unmarried See also: First ladies and gentlemen of the Philippines
This Filipino biographical article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.