Elizabeth Zimmerman | |
|---|---|
 Zimmerman in 2018 | |
| Born | Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman[1] (1948-04-14)April 14, 1948 (age 77) Davao City, Philippines |
| Education | Ateneo de Davao University |
| Occupation | Flight attendant (formerly) |
| Political party | Independent (2001) |
| Spouse | |
| Children | |
Elizabeth Abellana Zimmerman[2] (born April 14, 1948) is the former wife ofRodrigo Duterte, the16thPresident of the Philippines, and the mother of incumbentVice PresidentSara Duterte, incumbentDavao City representativePaolo Duterte, and Davao City acting mayorSebastian Duterte.
Zimmerman was born on(1948-04-14)April 14, 1948 inDavao City.[3] Her birth certificate erroneously cites August 14 as her birthdate, resulting from a mistake in the late registration of her birth.[4] Her parents are Godofredo Zimmerman fromHilongos, Leyte and Purisima Abellana fromTuburan, Cebu.[5] After finishing her college degree at theAteneo de Davao, she subsequently worked as a flight stewardess forPhilippine Airlines. She subsequently held a teaching job at the Philippine Women's College upon her marriage to Duterte.[6]
Rodrigo Duterte and the Zimmerman family's oral history claim that she is ofpatrilinealJewish descent,[7][8] with her father having fled to thePhilippines fromNazi Germany.[9]
Zimmerman ran for councilor of Davao City in 2001 but lost.[2] She joined theBiyaheng DU30 bus caravan which went around theVisayas andMindanao, in support of her former husband'spresidential bid in2016.[2][10]
In March 2019, Zimmerman scolded her daughter,Davao City mayorSara Duterte, for "bullying" senatorial candidates under theOtso Diretso opposition slate, telling her that "Everyone knows you are a child of Rodrigo, but they should also know that you are a child of Elizabeth."[11]
In 1973, Zimmerman married futureDavao City mayor andPhilippine presidentRodrigo Duterte, who was then a new lawyer. The couple has three children, namelyPaolo ("Pulong"),Sara ("Inday Sara") andSebastian ("Baste").
Zimmerman separated from Duterte in 1998 after she caught him in adultery. She filed for a civilannulment and lived with her brother inMetro Manila for a few months, occasionally visiting Davao City since her children were still studying there. Duterte did not contest the annulment, which was granted by aPasig court in 2000.[6] After the annulment, Zimmerman maintained a close friendship with her former husband,[12] while Sara stayed with her.[13] She chose to continue using "Duterte" as her surname despite the annulment, saying that her church marriage with Duterte has never beendeclared null by theCatholic Church.[2] She has eleven grandchildren: five from Paolo, three from Sara, and three from Baste. She also has two great-grandchildren.
In August 2015, Zimmerman was diagnosed with stage 3breast cancer,[12] but was declared fully recovered in October 2016. Her recovery then led to her becoming a breast cancer advocate.[14]
AfterRodrigo Duterte's arrest on March 11, 2025, her daughterVice President Sara claimed that her mother told her to prepare for the possibility that she will be arrested next.[15] By late March, Zimmerman arrived atThe Hague,Netherlands, where Duterte is currently being detained.[16]
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We're not very close. We're not very close because I come from a broken family, eh. So the time that the marriage broke up, I went with my mother.
| Life and politics | _(3).jpg) | |
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