Darryl Yap: Pepsi Paloma movie’s scheduled screening not pushing through

MANILA, Philippines – Filmmaker Darryl Yap announced on Monday, February 3, that the screening of his film The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma — originally scheduled for February 5 — will not be pushing through.

In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Yap said his team failed to submit the documents being requested by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) for the movie to be reviewed.

“Kaya’t imposible pong maipalabas sa mga sinehan ang ating pelikula sa February 5. Pinag-iisipan na rin ang posibilidad na maunang maipalabas ito sa labas ng bansa o ipagliban na ang pagpapalabas sa sinehan at magpokus na lamang sa streaming platforms,” he wrote.

(That’s why it’s impossible to release our movie to cinemas on February 5. We are also thinking about the possibility of premiering the film outside of the country first or forgoing its screening in cinemas and just focusing instead on putting it on streaming platforms.)

Yap added that whatever it is they decide on, they would let the public know immediately.

The MTRCB earlier said on January 29 that the film was not yet under review “due to incomplete requirements.”

“To set the record straight, the MTRCB Registration Unit could not accept the materials submitted by the representative of Pinoyflix because the Legal Affairs Division required the distributor to provide three specific requirements such as Certificate or Clearance of No Pending Criminal, Civil, or Administrative Case from the Regional Trial Court, the Department of Justice, and the Office of the City Prosecutor,” the board said.

The MTRCB is notably headed by Lala Sotto, the daughter of former senate president and current senatoriable Tito Sotto, and the niece of host-actor Vic Sotto, who filed a case against Yap for the mention of his name the movie’s teaser.

The Eat Bulaga host filed a cyber libel complaint against the filmmaker, which includes 19 counts of violation of Section 4 of Republic Act 10175, or the Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2022, along with a request for P35 million in moral and exemplary damages.