Atty. Enrique dela Cruz, legal counsel for Vic Sotto, has revealed that filmmaker Darryl Yap admitted in court to splicing the teaser for his controversial movie about the late Pepsi Paloma.
According to the lawyer, Yap also acknowledged that the teaser’s implications were misleading, contradicting the narrative suggested in the promotional material that Sotto was involved in an alleged crime against Paloma.
The teaser sparked legal action from Sotto, leading the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court to partially grant his writ of habeas data petition in his favor.
The ruling mandated Yap to take down any promotional content of his film that referenced or involved Sotto, however, the movie is still allowed for theatrical release scheduled on February 5, 2025.
In a Facebook post on his page “Itanong mo kay BUKO,” Atty. Dela Cruz shared details from his interview regarding the court’s decision.
He wrote: “Darryl Yap, umamin raw sa korte na hindi totoong ginahasa ni Vic Sotto si Pepsi Paloma, taliwas sa mensahe ng malisyosong trailer ng kaniyang pelikula.”
“Merong actual malice dahil po sinadya niyang putilin ang eksena at pinapalabas na parang totoo na nang-rape nga ang aming kliyente,” he stated in the interview.
“In fact, inamin niya yan sa korte. Sinabi niyang hindi naman talaga totoo na nang-rape.”
He further clarified that the ruling only applied to the teaser since the full movie has yet to be released. He noted that censorship is not allowed before a film is screened, and their next legal step would be to monitor its submission to the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB).
Additionally, Atty. Dela Cruz emphasized that the court’s decision strengthens their case in preventing the movie’s release, arguing that it contains sensitive and defamatory content.
This ruling will reportedly also support the 19 counts of cyber libel that Sotto has filed against Yap.
