In the past week, Isabelle Duterte, the granddaughter of President Rodrigo Duterte, went through social media scrutiny. She was the target of strong opinions from netizens when photos from her pre-debut shoot at Malacañan Palace went viral. She is slated to celebrate her 18th birthday on January 26, 2018.
On Friday, December 22, 2017, Isabelle is again at the receiving end of verbal onslaught—this time from her father, Davao City Vice Mayor Paolo Duterte. He used his official Facebook page to lambast her.
On the page, Vice Mayor Duterte posted a screen shot of Isabelle’s two tweets.
The first tweet reads: “Dili ingon naa kay posisyon sa city kay pwede na aka mangulata!!!! Di ingon naa kay power kay pwede naka manakit ug tao!!!! Tao gihapon na imong gina hilabtan!!!! Di lang kay tao, bata na!!!! Dili ingon naa kay pangalan pwede naka mag ana!!!! Dili ingon kay Duterte ka, pwede na!!!”
[Just because you hold a position in the city, it doesn’t mean you can maul someone. Just because you have power, it doesn’t mean you can hurt a person. That is still a person you are hurting. Not only is that a person, but that is a child. Just because you have a name, it doesn’t mean you can do that. Just because you are a Duterte, it doesn’t mean you can do that.]
The second one reads: “My dad fucks up my Christmas every year. What a time to be alive.”
The Vice Mayor’s Reply
The vice mayor responded to his daughter’s tweets without restraint. He wrote in Bisaya: “That person has pimped you out twice and I won’t stay quiet. If your mother and that man who’s supposed to be acting as your father don’t care about you, then I am different. It’s not because I am a Duterte, but because I am a father! Change your family name if you want to! You have no respect! You’ve humiliated yourself! Go to school first so your brain isn’t empty. So you don’t know how to listen because you’re famous? Famous for what, Belle? Famous for disrespecting your father? Wait for me to die before you’re free of me. Pray for it.
“I know we’ll all be shamed for this post. But this is what you want! That we talk here because you’re a millennial, and you only listen because of the number of likes! I don’t give a damn if I have a position in government or if I’m humiliated. You are my child. I don’t give a damn about other people because this has to be done for you to be aware of what you’ve done.
“P.S. FIX YOUR FUCKING LIFE FIRST before I stop ‘fucking up’ your Christmas every year.”
As of press time, it is unclear how the squabble began or what instigated it.
Cosmo.ph is open to hearing statements from the parties involved.