GENERAL SANTOS CITY — President Rodrigo Duterte defended Sunday night the recent pre-debut photo shoot of his granddaughter in Malacañang.

Duterte, speaking at the 39th birthday bash of boxing icon and senator Manny Pacquiao at KCC Mall convention center here, said the photo shoot of Isabelle Lovelie Duterte, for her 18th birthday, was just a small matter.

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Isabelle, a Grade 12 student at Ateneo de Davao, is the daughter of Duterte’s son Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte. She is Paolo’s first child with his ex-wife Lovelie Sangkola Sumera.

“It’s a small matter. Gamitin lang ang Malacañang. Wala naman ako doon and even if I was there, eh, kung granddaughter ko magpa-picture, lahat nga ng mga bisita dyan nagpapa-picture eh,” he said.

“You know that girl, ang nanay nya Maranao. May mga (kaanak) ako na Muslim. Kaya kayong mga Moro don’t be offended by my words. I am just trying to tell you that there’s a problem which we have to solve together,” he added.

Photos posted by members of her style team on Instagram showed a stunning Isabelle posing inside the Palace and on its grounds in different gowns, including a voluminous, off-shoulder red one by Dubai-based designer Garimon Roferos.

The photo showed her in a pink gown posing before the seal of the President and beside the Philippine flag. In another photo, she was in a red gown at the carpeted hallway leading to Rizal Hall, the venue for many of the official events held at the Palace.

A third photo showed her in a floral dress before the fountain at the Palace’s grounds.

Isabelle captured the attention of some netizens for her princess-like beauty in what appeared to be her fairy-tale palace.

But she also earned the ire of other social media users who saw the Palace as an inappropriate venue for her pre-debut photo shoot. /cbb

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