Veronica “Kitty” Duterte, daughter of former President Rodrigo Duterte, issued a statement after photos and videos of her holding a US passport went viral online.
According to Kitty, she has nothing to explain. “I’m a private citizen, I’m a Filipino citizen. I don’t need to explain,” she said. The video was taken outside the Scheveningen penitentiary in The Hague, where her father is being held on charges related to the drug war.
In the said video, Kitty is with Vice President Sara Duterte, while talking to supporters of the family. Kitty is seen holding a US passport and placing it in her Prada bag, which has an estimated value of approximately ₱150,000.
In March 2017, the former president admitted in a speech in Myanmar that his daughter Kitty is an American citizen. His partner, Honeylet Avanceña, was a nurse in the US before returning to the Philippines.
Although Kitty has a US passport, she maintained that she has nothing to disclose as a private individual and that she does not hold an official government position.
