Amid the controversy raised by presidential granddaughter’s pre-debut photoshoot at Malacañang, journalist Raissa Robles raised the issue about her real age. Is she 15 or 17 years old?
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In her article “How old is Isabelle Duterte?” she showed screenshots of Isabelle’s tweet describing herself as a 17-year-old girl.
Robles also pointed out how the Google search result showed that she was born on January 26, 2002, putting her supposed age at only 15 years old, not 17.
The journalist also brought up the profile of Isabelle’s father, Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte, in the Davao City official website, confirming that she was indeed born on January 26, 2002.
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She explained why she thought even something as minor as Isabelle’s real age matters, saying that Filipino politicians in the past stumbled over such small things. She cited how rumors about the late President Elpidio Quirino owning a golden orinola, or piss pot, scandalized the country that an impeachment complaint was even filed against him. It turned out the piss pot was actually made of stainless steel, then more expensive than other piss pots made of other materials because alloy was a new invention.
Robles then wondered whether the Davao City government site is correct about Isabelle’s birth date and if it is, what other things the Palace could not be honest about.
“You might again say, this is such a small thing,” she wrote. “And I would reply, this is all about honesty and truth-telling. If Malacanang can’t be honest in small things, what about big things?”
Other netizens also questioned Isabelle’s age.
Acclaimed Filipino writer Miguel Syjuco also shared Robles’ article and said that he also wants to know the truth.
Some netizens in the comments section of his post gave links showing that Isabelle already celebrated her 15th birthday three years ago based on her friend’s birthday greeting for her and her 16th two years ago based on the photos uploaded by an event coordinator based in Davao.
Here is the birthday greeting tweet for Isabelle’s 15th three years ago:
And here is a netizen sharing a link of the event coordinator’s photos during Isabelle’s sweet 16 birthday party at Marco Polo’s Pool Bistro:
Someone also pointed out this birthday greeting, proving that Isabelle was already 16 in 2016.
Syjuco later thanked the commenters on his post for trying to clarify the matter of the presidential granddaughter’s age.
He also thought the information online about Isabelle’s birth date is wrong.
“I’m inclined to think Isabelle Duterte is 17 & the online info is wrong. Why lie about her age? Let’s focus on what matters,” Syjuco wrote.
When talk about her age surfaced, a screenshot of Isabelle’s tweet calling those who questioned her age “dumbfucks” went viral.
“These dumbfucks think im 15 hahahahahaha g,” she tweeted.
President Rodrigo Duterte defended Isabelle from the backlash she received over her Malacañang pre-debut photoshoot, saying that she is just like the ordinary Filipinos who visit the Palace and take pictures.
“”Wala naman ako doon. But even if I [were] there, itong granddaughter ko magpa-picture, lahat nga ng mga bisita pumupunta diyan, nagpapa-picture eh,” Duterte said.
Sources: ( mindanao.politics.com.ph , rappler.com )
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