The Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court has partially granted veteran actor-host Vic Sotto’s petition against director Darryl Yap, ordering the removal of the teaser for his film about late actress Pepsi Paloma from all social media platforms.
On Monday, Jan. 27, The Philippine STAR shared an updatte from the Muntinlupa RTC Branch 150 regarding the 19 counts of cyberlibel complaints filed by Sotto against Yap following the release of the trailer for The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma where his name was mentioned in connection with a decades-old rape allegation involving Paloma.
The court stated that it had “partially granted” Sotto’s Writ of Habeas Data petition and issued an order for Yap to “delete, take down, and remove the 26-second teaser video from online platforms, social media, or any other medium.”
The decision was based on the “misuse of information” in the teaser, which featured a conversation between “two deceased individuals that cannot be verified as having actually occurred.”
However, the court ruled that Yap could still proceed with the film’s theatrical release, allowing it to be shown exclusively in cinemas this February, as the director confirmed on his social media pages.
As of writing, the teaser in question still visible in Darryl’s Facebook page, despite the court’s ruling.
