Filmmaker Darryl Yap has pleaded not guilty to two counts of cyberlibel filed by veteran actor and TV host Vic Sotto. The charges stem from Yap’s teaser for the controversial project “The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma” (TROPP), which Sotto claims falsely implicates him in a decades-old rape case involving the late actress.
Yap’s plea was entered on Tuesday, June 3, at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 203. His lawyer, Atty. Raymond Fortun, confirmed the plea and noted that a mandatory mediation conference will be held before the first court hearing on August 19 to explore a possible settlement.
“There’s always room for reconciliation,” Fortun said, while Sotto’s counsel, Atty. Enrique Dela Cruz, shared that Sotto still prefers to go to trial as of their last conversation.
The Muntinlupa court had issued an arrest warrant for Yap in March, but this was recalled after Yap posted ₱20,000 bail in advance—₱10,000 per count. The charges were based on libel provisions in the Revised Penal Code and the Cybercrime Prevention Act.
The cyberlibel complaint was triggered by a teaser portraying a dramatized dialogue between characters based on Charito Solis and Pepsi Paloma, implying a rape involving Sotto. Paloma died under controversial circumstances three years after the alleged incident.