Director Darryl Yap has been formally charged with two counts of cyberlibel over a scene in his Pepsi Paloma film, which implied veteran host-actor Vic Sotto’s involvement in the late actress’ rape allegations.
According to GMA News’ report, the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court’s Office of the City Prosecutor accused Yap of libel under Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code, in relation to Republic Act No. 10175 or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.
Sotto had initially filed 19 counts of cyberlibel against Yap in January, citing reputational damage caused by the film’s teaser released on January 1, which included a scene where Gina Alajar’s character, portraying veteran actress Charito Solis, asked the lead actress playing Pepsi Paloma if she had been raped by actor-host Vic Sotto to which the lead character responded, “yes.”
The city prosecutor ruled that the scene was defamatory toward Sotto, stating, “Thus, attributing or ascribing to the latter the commission of the crime against deceased actress Pepsi Paloma, or that said complainant was a rapist, thereby exposing the latter to public contempt, hatred, dishonor, or ridicule or causing the latter’s reputation to be tarnished, to the damage and prejudice of said Marvic ‘Vic’ Sotto y Castelo.”
The recommended bail for each count has been set at P10,000.
According to Pilipino Star Ngayon the city prosecutor found merit in only two cases instead of 19, specifically those tied to the posting of the teaser on Yap’s personal Facebook page and the VinCentiments page
In the resolution authored by Muntinlupa City Assistant Prosecutor Elvin Keith Barrios, it was noted that the teaser video subjected Sotto to public ridicule.
“The complainant suddenly became the butt of jokes and hate comments that were either lewd or incendiary, which was nothing more than a logical consequence of the controversy sparked by the teaser, since we live in an age where netizens ingratiate themselves with various content on social media on a day-to-day basis,” the news outlet quoted Barrio’s statement.
“We find that the teaser video was defamatory in nature, as it imputed a serious crime upon the complainant, a conclusion supported by the reactions of the viewers themselves,” he added.
The resolution pointed out that Yap was aware of the potential reaction to the teaser and even boasted about the huge amount of views it amassed on social media.
“The reaction that the teaser video can potentially draw once released, was something that any person could naturally anticipate given the numbers. Such knowledge, combined with respondent’s use of his influence on social media for the purpose of amassing viewership and then flaunting it on social media when viewership reached 34 million views, are clear signs of malice,” the statement read in Pilipino Star Ngayon’s report.
After Yap’s team was ordered to remove the film’s teaser from all social media platforms, its scheduled theatrical release, supposed to coincide the 40th death anniversary of Paloma, was postponed days after the court’s order due to failure to submit the movie’s documentary requirements.
Yap is expected to respond to the charges in court. Meanwhile, Sotto has yet to issue a public statement regarding the city prosecutor’s decision.
