Rhed Bustamante as Pepsi Paloma; Darryl Yap. Image: Facebook/Darryl Yap

After setbacks including an ongoing legal battle and distributors pulling out, Darryl Yap announced that his Pepsi Paloma film is now finished and will be ready for review.

The director, who faces 19 counts of cyber libel filed by TV host Vic Sotto, got candid about the filmmaking process through his Facebook page on Wednesday, Jan. 22.

Sotto lodged the complaint after his name was mentioned as an alleged rapist of the late 1980s sexy star in Yap’s film teaser.

“Bagamat naging masalimuot ang paggawa ng pelikula—kasama na ang pagpull-out ng mga distributors, pagbawi ng permiso para sa mga awit na gagamitin, pagharap sa mga reklamo at marami pang-iba. Natapos namin,” Yap said.

“Maraming salamat sa mga musikerong tumulong upang magkaroon ng All-Original Soundtrack ang [‘The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma’]—hindi ko ito makakalimutan,” he added.

Yap further expressed his gratitude to those who continuously support the project and those who have put their trust in him.

“Maaaring kulang sa pera at koneksyon—pero hindi kami kapos sa tapang at paninindigan,” he continued. “We have finished the film tonight. It will be ready for review.”

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“Malapit nang mapanood ng Pilipino ang Hubad na Katotohanan,” he concluded.

Yap earlier announced that the film, which stars Rhed Bustamante as Paloma, is set for release on Feb. 5.

Aside from cyber libel, Sotto also filed a petition for the writ of habeas data for the removal of any information about him used in the promotion of Yap’s film.

In turn, Yap’s camp filed a motion for the issuance of a gag order, which was later issued by the court on them and Sotto’s camp.