‘Paolo did not pay for debut photo shoot, gowns’

MANILA, Philippines — The photographer who shot the photos of President Duterte’s granddaughter Isabelle at Malacañang has broken his silence on the controversy.

In a Facebook post on Monday, Lito Sy said Isabelle’s father, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, did not pay for the lavish photo shoot and gowns worn by Isabelle, including one that may have cost as much as P600,000.

Sy made the clarification after the photo shoot received flak from netizens.

He denied claims that he charged P250,000 for the photo shoot, saying he did not ask for a fee from the Duterte family as he is a friend of Isabelle’s mother and Paolo’s first wife, Lovelie Sangkola Sumera.

Sy also denied that the gowns were bought, noting that these were given by sponsors to the Duterte family at no cost.

“The red gown used by Isabelle was sent through LBC from Dubai.

It was sponsored by a Dubai-based Davao designer who is a good friend of Isabelle’s mom,” Sy said, referring to designer Garimon Roferos.

The other gowns were provided by stylist Jeff Galang, who borrowed them from famous designers in exchange for credits and mileage, the photographer added.

Sy noted that the expensive shoes worn by Isabelle were provided by Viva, which is expecting to launch the presidential granddaughter as one of its new artists.

According to Sy, the payment of P25,000 was made for Galang and an unspecified amount for make-up artist Winn Ramos.

“It was not Paolo Duterte who paid for the suppliers because Isabelle’s mother is a businesswoman,” he said.

Family wealth in spotlight

Earlier, novelist and New York Times columnist Miguel Syjuco said the photo shoot could have cost the Duterte family as much as P1.1 million, citing the cost of the gowns and the other services.

Syjuco said Sy’s clarification provided answers to questions that have been raised about Isabelle’s photo shoot at Malacañang.

“Yet new questions remain. Are these free services considered gifts given to a relative of direct consanguinity to the President? Is it lawful or even ethical for this professional exchange between service providers and the politically powerful who each stand to benefit? And if her mother can afford Isabelle’s lavish lifestyle, are her assets clearly delineated or accounted for in the vice mayor’s SALN (statement of assets, liabilities and net worth)?” Syjuco said.

“Old questions still stand, too – who pays for the luxury goods Isabelle sports on Instagram, worth more than half-a-million pesos in bags and shoes, not to mention the travel and helicopter flights?” he added.

Syjuco had questioned the luxury items shown by the presidential granddaughter on her social media account, including a gray Celine mini ($3,100), Chanel quilted ballerina flats ($750), another Celine handbag ($2,700), a Chanel Boy bag ($4,100) and Gucci Ace embroidered sneakers ($620) – totaling $11,270 or P568,147.

“That’s a lot for clothes: more than twice the total median income for one year for an average Filipino, which is P264,000. So this year, the 17-year-old Isabelle Duterte has been sporting about P1.5 million worth of fashion goods on social media,” he said.

The Davao vice mayor was implicated by Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV in drug smuggling, which he vehemently denied.

During a Senate investigation into the shabu shipment that slipped through the Bureau of Customs, Paolo was seen sporting a luxury Audemars Piguet watch, which he later claimed was fake and a gift.

“He claims it is fake and a gift. But that would still make him a public official receiving questionable gifts and wearing counterfeit goods that would have found him held and punished at any customs desk anywhere in the world,” wrote Syjuco.

“So where do the Dutertes, who’ve been on government salaries for more than two decades, get their money? And why won’t they be transparent about their finances? As citizens, we have every right to demand answers to these questions from our government officials and their families,” he added.

16 or 18?

In addition to the questions on the legality of the photo shoot that showed the presidential seal contrary to an existing executive order, netizens also cast doubt on the real age of the President’s granddaughter.

Journalist Raissa Robles noted a page in the Davao City website, which shows that Isabelle was born on Jan. 26, 2002, which if true will make her only 16 next year.

“She had a photo shoot at the presidential palace. She tweeted she was 17,” wrote Robles.

“But then the official Davao city government website states she is only turning 16 next year. Which is an age that is not celebrated in the country as a rite of passage. And therefore does not seem to merit that kind of grand celebration with four designer gowns,” she added.

But in a tweet, ABS-CBN journalist Gigi Grande said Isabelle is indeed turning 18 next year based on the 2014 SALN filed by her father.