Presidential granddaughter Isabelle Duterte tweeted that anyone can request for a photoshoot in Malacañang just like she did with her pre-debut shoot, but a government employee said that the Palace told him he needed to ask President Rodrigo Duterte or his deputies for permission first.
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Amid the bashing that she got for her photoshoot at the Palace, Isabelle replied to one of her detractors that she “sent a request in the office for my photoshoot in Malacañang.”
“Hi dear, I sent a request in the office for my photoshoot in Malacañang, you can actually do the same. If you wanted to book contact them, they also have tours around the Palace for free. Or you can message me and we can do it together. I hope your Nanay will have a happy 50th,” Isabelle said in a tweet.
Even President Duterte himself brushed off the photoshoot as a “small matter,” considering how many guests to the Palace also take pictures.
The 24-year-old government employee said he followed Isabelle’s advice to send a request to Malacañang to arrange an appointment for his prenuptial shoot.
He told the Philippine Daily Inquirer in an exclusive interview that he wanted to know if the Palace can really accommodate him, just like what Isabell said in her tweet.
A screenshot of the government employee’s email addressed to the Malacañang Presidential Museum and Library at [email protected] on December 19 was published by the Inquirer. He said in his email, “My fiancé and I are looking for a historical place to shoot our prenup. Unfortunately, multiple sites has already declined our request. We were about to lose hope with our search until we saw Ms. Isabelle’s pre-debut photoshoot in your premises. Our hope was further strengthened when she, through her Twitter, encouraged us that we can send a request to you to conduct a similar activity/function within your premises.”
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He also inquired as to whether he can conduct the shoot “around the week of January 3 to 5, 2018 – or days before our wedding.” He added that nothing can compare to the “seat of the highest official of our government.”
In response, the Palace’s Tour and Visitor Relations Unit responded, saying “The Presidential Museum and Library is only authorized to facilitate tours in the museum located in Kalayaan Hall. Any other activity, especially those of a personal nature, in any location in the Malacañang compound is subject to the approval of the President or his duly-designated deputies,” the email added.
The government employee told the Inquirer that he expected “to be turned down in some way” because he was a “nobody to be granted a prenup inside the premises of Malacañang.”
Another netizen also tried sending a request to hold pre-event photoshoots and birthday parties in the President’s residence in March and April next year.
She told the Malacañang in an email, “Kindly pencil book these dates and send me what are the areas available for a dinner dance birthday party and how much to use. I am expecting a guest of 300 pax for both dates.”
She added, “Also, kindly include details for a pre-event photo and video shoot 2 months before the party dates.”
In response to the netizen’s request, the Tour and Visitor Relations Unit gave the same response that it sent to the government employee.
The netizen responded to Malacañang and raised Isabelle’s earlier suggestion to a netizen.
“This is most unfortunate especially since Ms. Isabelle Duterte said it is open to the public (moreso for taxpayers like me), following a very much publicized photoshoot for her debut and the baptismal of Robin Padilla’s child,” she wrote.
“But thank you for your response and for clarifying that only the President and his designated Deputies can approve such requests personal use of The Filipino People’s Palace,” she added.
Isabelle’s tweet urging her detractor to send in a request to Malacañang if they also want to book an event in it like her photoshoot led to the creation of a parody page called “Malacañang Events and Catering Services.”
Sources: ( newsinfo.inquirer.net )
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