THE ex-wife of former President Rodrigo Duterte, Elizabeth Zimmerman, revealed that the former president is already weak and “skin and bones.”
“I am happy that I have seen him. He is okay, but he’s so thin, skin and bones,” she said in a media interview on Friday, July 4, 2025, at The Hague in the Netherlands.
Zimmerman said that Duterte does not look like his previous picture and that he is already thin. She said that the former president does not have an appetite and refuses to eat, citing that the food is repetitive.
She added that Duterte is no longer taking medication and that he is healthy, but that as an old man, he is already weak and is having difficulty walking.
She revealed that Duterte’s daily routine is watching TV and sleeping.
Zimmerman said that Duterte kept asking about the state of Davao City and how their son, Sebastian “Baste”, as acting mayor. She also relayed that Duterte thanks the people who keep on supporting him, assuring that he is okay.
Zimmerman replaced their first-born son, First District Representative Paolo “Pulong”, in The Hague, Netherlands, to watch over Duterte after the latter was detained due to his alleged crimes against humanity.
Earlier, Pulong shared that his father appeared thinner since his last visit, but he assured the public that he remains healthy and even manages to crack jokes from time to time.
Vice President Sara said a month ago that her father had lost weight when she visited him. She added that she has not seen his father this thin and that the former president is not used to the cold.
“And I think it’s the way that they cook the food. It’s not traditional Filipino food. But I’m happy that he gets rice every day. But yes, he’s given milk as well if he doesn’t have the appetite to eat,” she said. RGP