Are Angelica's Ginebra photos fake?

I was informed that this controversy sparked a few weeks ago while I was in Bangkok. But I am taking this up because of two reasons: I like Angelica Panganiban, even in her Ang TV and Sarah, ang Munting Prinsesa days; and second, the issue of faking/"photoshopping" photos as applied in news coverage has long been criticized even by journalists themselves. Remember this case?

Now, the issue with Angelica is that her photos for her Ginebra 2007 calendar were digitally manipulated to make Angelica, uh, sexier.

Angelica Panganiban, nag-react sa kumakalat na Internet pictures
Article posted November 24, 2006

Kumakalat ngayon sa Internet ang mga litrato ni Angelica Panganiban habang nagfi-fit ito ng mga swimsuit para sa pictorial. Kapansin-pansin dito ang baby fat ng dalaga, na malayo sa mga litratong gagamitin sa isang kalendaryo.

At dahil galing sa Internet ang mga larawan, hindi alam kung tiyak o dinaya ang mga ito. Hindi naman nagulat si Angelica sa mga ganitong issue, dahil napaghandaan na daw niya ang mga ito.

'Kung ano ‘yung totoo, ‘yun ang ilalabas namin. Confident ako sa kung anong meron ako, wala akong pinapaayos. Kung ano ako, eto na ‘yon,' mariin niyang sinabi."

These are the much-talked about photos:















Someone allegedly took photos of her during the said photo Ginebra shoot, and came out these alleged photos:




























Angelica insists her photos were not "photoshopped."



So, who's telling the truth here?

Well, for me, whether she's sexy or not, Angelica still rocks.