NAGHAIN ng reklamong cyber libel at P35 milyon damage suit ang TV host-actor na si Vic Sotto laban sa direktor na si Darryl Yap ngayong araw, January 9, dahil sa mga mapanira at malisyosong pahayag nito sa social media.
Isinampa ni Sotto ang 19 bilang na reklamo ng cyber libel laban kay Yap sa Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court “for willfully and deliberately posting several public, malicious and defamatory statements in respondent Yap’s Facebook pages tending to cause dishonor and damage to my reputation.”
Dahil din sa nasabing post, inihayag ni Sotto na “I have been subjected and continue to be subjected to public ridicule and contempt. The social humiliation have caused me to suffer mental anguish and serious anxiety due to my tarnished reputation and destroyed credibility.” Dahil dito ay humihingi siya ng P20 milyon bilang moral damages mula kay Yap.
Nasa P15 milyon naman ang hinihingi niya bilang exemplary damages kay Yap dahil “his posts are so reprehensible for which he must be held liable…in order to prevent others from committing similar offenses.”
Nag- ugat ang mga reklamo sa pagbanggit sa pangalan ni Sotto sa teaser ng pelikula ni Yap ukol sa buhay ng namayapang aktres na si Pepsi Paloma.
Ayon sa reklamo ni Sotto, isang “clout chaser” si Yap na ginagamit ang kanyang mga social media platform para magpapansin.
“In his desire to earn more money, he openly accused me of being a rapist,” pahayag ni Sotto.
“The freedom of expression, like all cherished rights, is never absolute. The exercise of a “right” cannot be allowed to infringe on another person’s right… It is high time for respondent to realize that free speech does not afford him unbridled license to ruin another person’s hard- earned reputation,” dagdag niya.
