ROME— President Benigno Aquino III gifted Pope Francis with a dinner set, and not a tea set as earlier reported.
Ito Kish, the Filipino home retailer and designer who made the gift, informed the Inquirer on Friday night “the gift of President Aquino (to Pope Francis) is a dinnerware set and not the cup and saucer set.”
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Kish apparently saw the Inquirer’s tweet about the exchange of gifts by Mr. Aquino and the Pontiff.
The dinner set, according to Kish, is his “new collection for export and local marked launched last month.”
Reporters covering the President’s visit to the Pope were told that Mr. Aquino gave the Pontiff a “bone China tea set.”
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The journalists were not allowed to cover the two leaders’ meeting at the Apostolic Palace, it being a private meeting.
A photograph of President Aquino showing Francis his gift clearly showed that it was not a tea set but a dinner set.
“The gift to His Holiness Pope Francis was a complete dinner set, 28-piece for 4 person service by Ito Kish,” deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte told the Inquirer in a message, quoting Social Secretary Susan Reyes, who is responsible for these matters.
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“The service is composed of a soup bowl, soup bowl plate, salad plate, dinner plate, dessert plate, cup, and saucer,” Valte added.
Valte also countered allegations on social media that President Aquino’s gift to the Pope was recycled from the set of gifts given to the spouses of the world leaders to went to the Philippines for the Asia Pacific Economic Conference (APEC) summit.
Valte said Kish was also “appalled at the allegation.”