MANILA, Philippines – New year, old scandal.

On the first day of 2025, makers of The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma aired a teaser on the movie, stirring controversy and prompting the characters involved to bring it to court. A judge has ordered its takedown, but chatter about it continues.

What's more, it's become a cause for concern for the Sottos, a political clan.

The story dates back to 1982, when 15-year-old actress Pepsi Paloma accused television host Vic Sotto and comedians Joey de Leon and Richie D’Horsie of rape. With the help of her manager, Rey dela Cruz, and lawyer Rene Cayetano, Paloma filed charges against the Eat Bulaga! hosts. However, she later dropped the case.

Three years after, in 1985, Paloma was found dead in her Quezon City apartment. She was 18.

Today, Vic’s brother Tito Sotto — a Senate veteran trying to stage a comeback in the May elections — is feeling the heat.

While the film’s trailer didn't name Tito Sotto, data from The Nerve showed that 30% of discussions about him from December 1, 2024, to January 15, 2025 revolved around Paloma.

Vic, meanwhile, isn’t sitting quietly. On January 9, he filed a complaint against its director, Darryl Yap, accusing him of 19 counts of cyber libel. The complaint also sought P35 million in moral and exemplary damages. The takedown order against the teaser was a result of Vic's separate petition with a Muntinlupa court, which nonetheless denied his plea to stop the movie altogether.

The movie is scheduled for screening next month.

And Tito Sotto? He took to X to vent. "When you rely on an old showbiz gimmick to make money and get your facts all wrong, you will falter, for sure!" he said. "Sa mga gumagastos ng malaki para manira ng kapwa, ayos! Para mabawasan ang yaman ninyo!" Tito Sotto said in a post on January 13. (To those spending big to ruin others, nice! At least it reduces your wealth.)

Politically motivated?

The timing couldn’t be worse for Tito Sotto, who’s running again for the Senate. After hitting his term limit in 2022 and losing a vice presidential bid that year, Tito Sotto went back to hosting Eat Bulaga! on TV5.

According to a Pulse Asia survey conducted from November 26 to December 3, 2024, Sotto enjoys 59% voter support, placing him between the first and second rank among senatorial candidates. Running under the Marcos administration slate, Sotto is expected to gun for the Senate presidency in case of victory — a post that he used to hold under the previous Duterte administration.

Could the current scandal bring his numbers down?

Yap said the upcoming movie was made to honor the 40th death anniversary of Paloma. But the timing has everyone talking — especially since Yap has ties to Senator Imee Marcos, who’s also running for reelection but is estranged from her brother, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. Yap has made several political content for Imee.

Yap is the same director behind the controversial Marcos-centered Maid in Malacañang film that premiered in July 2022, a few months after Marcos Jr. assumed the country’s top post. The film was marred with historical distortion. – with reports from Steph Arnaldo/Rappler.com

This story is part of Rappler and The Nerve’s ongoing series capturing social media trends and public sentiment surrounding the top senatorial candidates for the 2025 midterm elections. Read the previous stories here:

• [DECODED] From gold medals to scandals: Who’s hot in the 2025 Senate race?
• [DECODED] Dr. Willie Ong’s cancer disclosure: Boost or blow to his Senate campaign?
• [DECODED] Duterte’s drug war haunts Dela Rosa and Bong Go’s Senate bids

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This story was originally published on Rappler on January 28, 2022. It was made in collaboration with The Nerve, a data forensics company that enables changemakers to navigate real-world trends and issues through narrative and network investigations. Taking the best of human and machine, we enable partners to unlock powerful insights that shape informed decisions. Composed of a team of data scientists, strategists, award-winning storytellers, and designers, the company is on a mission to deliver data with real-world impact.