Filmmaker Darryl Yap pleaded ”not guilty” on Tuesday.
In the cyberlibel case filed by actor-host Vic Sotto, director Darryl Yap pleaded not guilty to the charges filed at the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court.
The arraignment of filmmaker Darryl Yap was at a Muntinlupa court on June 3. This is in connection with the two cyber libel cases filed by actor and TV host Vic Sotto stemming from the controversial teaser of the film “The R4pists of Pepsi Paloma.”
The teaser has loudly and clearly mentioned the name of the veteran actor. Yap’s legal counsel, Atty. Raymond Fortun confirmed that the filmmaker pleaded not guilty at his arraignment and described the proceedings as “very typical and normal.”
After the arraignment, a pre-trial will follow, and according to Fortun, in pre-trial, they will “try to agree on certain facts,” followed by disclosure of evidence. The first hearing is scheduled on August 19, 2025, but prior to this, they will be having a mandatory mediation conference.
Atty. Enrique Dela Cruz, the legal counsel of Sotto, also spoke about the update regarding the charges filed by the complainant. He shared, “Nagkaroon lang ng arraignment and pre-trial binasahan ng habla si Mr. Darryl Yap at nag-usap ‘yung magkabilang panig sa harapan ng hukom kung ano-anong mga dokumento ang mamarkahan, ano-anong mga issues, anong mga bagay ang inaamin ng magkabilang panig.”
When asked about the possibility of out-of-court settlement, the instruction from Sotto was accordingly clear: “Laban tayo.”
He is confident with the pieces of evidence they hold, and they were already told by the fiscal during the preliminary investigation that they have enough evidence to proceed to trial.
Dela Cruz added, “The last time na nagkausap kami, ang sabi niya (Sotto), ‘proceed tayo to trial. Let the courts decide.’”
To recall, Sotto filed a complaint with the Muntinlupa Prosecutor’s Office for 19 counts of cyber libel against Yap in January.
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