In early Thursday, actor and comedian Vic Sotto arrived at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC), accompanied by his wife Pauleen Luna, to file 19 counts of cyber libel against director Darryl Yap over a controversial teaser film.
Under the filed complaint, Yap is subject to face multiple violations under Section 4(c) of the Republic Act no. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012. This is in relation to Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code. According to Sotto, the complaint against Yap was filed due to the latter’s willful and deliberate posting of several public, malicious, and defamatory statements on his Facebook pages.
Sotto stated that this caused dishonor and damage to his reputation.
The controversial teaser for the film, “The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma,” was released on January 1. The teaser quickly gained attention after a confrontation scene—between the actress portraying Pepsi and another actress—showed the former confirming that she was raped by Sotto.
The Complaint
The complaint stated that freedom of expression is never absolute and that exercising such a right cannot be allowed to infringe another person’s right.
“The exercise of a “right” cannot be allowed to infringe on another person’s right. In this case, the respondent is a clout chaser using his social media platforms to garner attention for his film,” Sotto’s complaint read.
“In his desire to earn more money, he openly accused me of being a rapist. It is high time for [the] respondent to realize that free speech does not afford him unbridled license to ruin another person’s hard-earned reputation,” it continued.
Due to the malicious and defamatory posts made by the respondent, Sotto mentioned that he has been subjected and continues to be subjected to public ridicule and contempt.
“The social humiliation has caused me to suffer mental anguish and serious anxiety due to my tarnished reputation and destroyed credibility,” Sotto’s complaint indicated.
Additionally, Sotto asked that Yap be held liable to pay at least P20 million in moral damages and another P15 million for exemplary damages. The complaint stated that this would also prevent others from committing similar offenses.
Yap’s Response
In an official statement, Yap responded by stating that they have received the complaint. However, he said that all of the materials he releases are documented and are not meant to be destructive to other people.
“Agad naman po naming sasagutin ang reklamo kapag nakarating na po sa amin; ang sa akin lamang, lahat po ng materyal na aking inilabas o ilalabas ay nakadokumento—hindi ko po gawa-gawa para makapanira,” his statement read.
“Wala pong personalan, naglalahad lamang po ako ng nangyari sa nakaraan na makikita sa mga nailathala noong 1980s. Naisapubliko naman po iyon,” it added.
Additionally, the filmmaker said everyone is free to file a complaint against, comparing the complaint filed by the late actress.
“Maluwag po sa aking kalooban tanggapin ang isinampang kaso ni Vic Sotto–Malaya naman po ang kahit na sino magsampa ng kaso kaya po ng naisampang rape case noon ni Pepsi Paloma laban sa kanya na siya pong natatanging laman ng teaser,” he said.
Yap said that it is important that people watch the entirety of the film.
In a previous Facebook post, Yap challenged Sotto’s complaint, and stated that the truth will serve as the case’s defense.
The Pepsi Paloma Case
Pepsi Paloma, born Delia Dueñas Smith was a Filipino-American dancer and actress who was part of the popular Softdrink Beauties of the 1980s. She was scouted at 14, debuting in the 1982 feature “Brown Emmanuelle.” Although her career was short-lived, most of the details about the then-rising starlet’s life became fuzzy after her death.
The information that endured, however, is when the actress went public and accused Sotto and his colleagues of drugging and raping her and another actress. Pepsi later dropped the charges and left the showbiz industry.
After three years, the actress took her own life by hanging, leaving behind a diary. She was 17.
The public claimed that the contents of Pepsi's diary alluded to money and personal problems. However, her manager denied the allegations, stating that Pepsi had booked multiple performances. The actress’ legacy had been making rounds on social media in the past years, challenging the narrative that was released in the years prior.
In her final note before her passing, the actress is said to have written, “This is a crazy planets. "
On Wednesday, it was reported that Sotto will file a complaint against Yap before the Muntinlupa RTC.
