Cielito "Honeylet" Salvador Avanceña (born February 17, 1970) is a

Filipina Filipinos ( tl, Mga Pilipino) are the people who are citizens of or native to the Philippines. The majority of Filipinos today come from various Austronesian ethnolinguistic groups, all typically speaking either Filipino, English and/or other ...

businesswoman who is best known for being the current partner of the 16th

President of the Philippines The president of the Philippines ( fil, Pangulo ng Pilipinas, sometimes referred to as ''Presidente ng Pilipinas'') is the head of state, head of government and chief executive of the Philippines. The president leads the executive branch of t ...

, Rodrigo Duterte. Avanceña and Duterte have been in a relationship since at least 1996 and have a daughter named Veronica.

Biography

Honeylet Avanceña first met Rodrigo Duterte, who would later become

and her partner, shortly after she participated at the 1988 Mutya Ng Dabaw pageant where she finished as first runner-up. Avanceña would work as a nurse in the United States for four years. She returned to Davao shortly after her daughter was born in 2004. She joined her partner's

presidential campaign President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese fu ...

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

during the

2016 elections The following elections occurred in the year 2016. Africa Benin Republic * 2016 Beninese presidential election 6 March 2016 Cape Verde * 2016 Cape Verdean presidential election 2 October 2016 Chad * 2016 Chadian presidential election 1 ...

. Prior to President Rodrigo Duterte's presidency, Avanceña ran several businesses in Davao namely a meat shop, a canteen catering service and 11

Mister Donut Mister Donut is an international chain of doughnut stores. It was founded in the United States in 1956 by Harry Winokur. Primary offerings include doughnuts, coffee, muffins and pastries. After being acquired by Allied Domecq in 1990, most of ...

franchises.

Status as First Lady

Shortly after the inauguration of her husband as president, Avanceña was not named as First Lady. Her step-daughter

Sara Sara may refer to: Arts, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Sara'' (1992 film), 1992 Iranian film by Dariush Merhjui * ''Sara'' (1997 film), 1997 Polish film starring Bogusław Linda * ''Sara'' (2010 film), 2010 Sri Lankan Sinhal ...

was proposed to fulfill the role instead who declined the offer. Avanceña nevertheless would fulfill roles usually conducted by the First Lady such as during the official visit of

Japanese Prime Minister The prime minister of Japan ( Japanese: 内閣総理大臣, Hepburn: ''Naikaku Sōri-Daijin'') is the head of government of Japan. The prime minister chairs the Cabinet of Japan and has the ability to select and dismiss its Ministers of Stat ...

Shinzo Abe Shinzo Abe ( ; ja, 安倍晋三, Hepburn: , ; 21 September 1954 – 8 July 2022) was a Japanese politician who served as Prime Minister of Japan and President of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) from 2006 to 2007 and again from 2012 to 20 ...

, and the 30th ASEAN Summit in 2017.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Avancena, Cielito 1970 births 21st-century Filipino businesspeople Cielito Avancena Filipino nurses Living people Rodrigo Duterte Spouses of presidents of the Philippines