Controversial film director Darryl Yap is scheduled to appear before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court (RTC) on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, for the arraignment of two counts of cyber libel filed by actor and television host Vic Sotto.
The arraignment will be held at 8:30 a.m. at Branch 203, presided over by Judge Myra Quiambao, following the postponement of the original March 26 schedule. Yap’s legal team previously filed a petition for review before the Department of Justice (DOJ), prompting the court to grant a deferment.
“Considering the deferment of the proceedings, tentatively set the continuation of hearing of this case on June 3, 2025 at 8:30 in the morning,” stated Judge Quiambao in an earlier order.
The charges stem from promotional content for Yap’s unreleased film ‘The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma’ (TROPP), which was published online on January 1, 2025. In the film’s teaser, the character of Gina Alajar, portraying Charito Solis, asks the character Pepsi, “Ginahasa ka ba ni Sotto?” to which the Pepsi character responds, “Oo.”
Sotto filed a writ of habeas data petition against Yap, which the court later granted, ordering the filmmaker to take down the controversial teaser video. Despite the removal, Yap now faces criminal charges over the teaser’s content and its effect online.
In a March 17 resolution, the Muntinlupa City Prosecutor’s Office found probable cause to indict Yap, stating: “We find prima facie evidence with reasonable certainty of conviction to hold respondent Darryl Ray Spyke Yap y Balingit liable for two (2) counts of Libel under Articles 353 and 355 of the Revised Penal Code, as amended, in relation to Section 4(c)(4) of Republic Act 10175, otherwise known as the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012.”
The resolution notes that the allegedly defamatory materials were published on Yap’s personal Facebook page and on his official content channel ‘VinCentiments’.
“These materials were published to promote his latest film ‘The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma’,” the resolution said. “We find that [the teaser] is defamatory, as it clearly ascribed to the complainant the commission of rape, a crime defined and penalized under the Revised Penal Code.”
The prosecution added that the resulting online backlash was foreseeable: “The complainant suffered public backlash from numerous netizens online… becoming the butt of jokes and hate comments that were either lewd or incendiary.”
It concluded that all elements of cyber libel, including malice and the publication of defamatory content in a digital platform, were present.
Yap, who has faced multiple controversies over his bold and politically charged films, has yet to issue a public statement on the upcoming arraignment.
