In the heat of a TV host-columnist's contract suspension by ABS-CBN, let's rewind to exactly a year ago. Then, another entertainment writer was fighting a battle to protect her name and credibility—Lolit Solis.
The showbiz talk show host-columnist-talent manager had cameras and recorders pointed at her after the tabloid Pilipino Star Ngayon (October 15) headlined her "Take it, Take it" column with "Sam and Piolo, naglalampungan."
Lolit's column that day was about her seeing matinee idols Piolo Pascual and Sam Milby at Hotel Sofitel on the afternoon of October 12.
"Nakita ko 'yong dalawang lalaki na nagbubulungan... Si Piolo Pascual at si Sam Milby. Magkadikit ‘yong pisngi tapos bumubulong 'yong isa dun sa tenga nung isa," related Lolit, also in the show she co-hosts, Startalk.
Sam Milby and Piolo Pascual vehemently denied Lolit's claim.
On October 21, the actors, through their counsel, demanded an apology and retraction. In a letter addressed to Lolit, lawyer Joji Alonso stated: "In your article, you narrated that you saw our clients together at a Sofitel Hotel coffee shop, the previous Friday, 12 October 2007, at around 4 pm, their manner towards each other, unexpected from two gentlemen. Your article has left in doubt in the minds of the readers that you intended our clients to be perceived as gay men.
"Unfortunately, our clients were not in Sofitel on 12 October 2007. They were not even together on the said date. Hence, your story was without any factual basis, and clearly a falsehood.
"Besides being a complete lie, your narrative contained words and phrases that were indisputably defamatory, for they impute upon our clients a condition which is sufficient to impeach their reputation as matinee idols and hold them to public ridicule. Your article has undoubtedly shown your objective of maligning and injuring the reputation of our clients."
Lolit Solis stood her ground and upheld her story:
"'Yon nga ang pinagtataka ko. Ang sinabi ko lang, nakita ko sila dun sa coffee shop. Wala naman akong against kay Piolo and kay Sam dahil hindi ko naman sila kilala personally. Wala naman silang nagawang masama sa akin. Kaya sa akin, walang malisya yong pagkakasabi ko, nagkuwento lang [ako] kaya nagtaka ako ba't nagkagulo. Basta I stand in what I saw. Oo, basta nakita ko sila."
"Ngayon kung idini-deny niyo, ok lang sa akin. Nakataya 'yong kredibilidad ko pero nasa inyo na ‘yon kung paniniwalaan ako ng tao o hindi. Nasa kanila na ‘yon."
In self-defense, Piolo related that he was at a photo shoot with Angel Locsin for Timex; Sam said he was at Essensuals Toni and Guy Salon having a haircut at the time Lolit said they were at Sofitel.
At the height of the controversy, friends and colleagues of Piolo and Sam came to their defense.
Sam's manager, Erick Raymundo, even claimed that it was farfetched that the two were together, given that they were already avoiding further speculations on an alleged, media-fueled romantic involvement between them. "Simula nang mabigyan ng ibang kahulugan at mabalita yung paglabas-labas nila ni Piolo, we all decided na huwag na muna silang gumimik para na rin makaiwas sa mga ganung isyu. "
Piolo's friend, actor Yul Servo, was also interviewed: "Parang hindi na nga nahiwalay kay Brother [Piolo] ang ganyang intriga. Nakalulungkot nga kapag ganyan ang balita sa kanya, dahil kahit naman artista ka ay mayroon ka ring sariling buhay. Pero kaya naman niyang lagpasan 'yan e.
"Pero masasabi kong hindi totoo ang balitang ‘yan dahil sa nakita ko sa kanya bilang kaibigan, wala akong pagdududa sa kanya. Kasi hindi naman porke nakipagbulungan ka, bading ka na... Sabi namin, huwag na lang pansinin. Part na rin kasi ng showbiz ito dahil public property ang mga artista. Siyempre sikat siya, mabunga ‘ika nga kaya binabato."
Broadsheet columnist Dolly Anne Carvajal also jumped in to "defend" Sam and Piolo, saying that everything may have been hearsay, that Lolit Solis may have heard about the alleged sighting of the two from another person.
On October 27, Lolit claimed: "Hindi ko ipaglalaban ang isang bagay na alam kong kaya kong labanan kasi ako mismo ang naka-saksi. Kung hindi ko sila nakita ng sarili kong mata, or halimbawa may nagsabi lang sa akin, ‘Ate Lolit, nakita ko si Sam at si Piolo.' Hindi ako magkakaroon ng ganitong lakas ng loob. Pero dahil ako mismo ang nakakita, malakas ang loob ko."
But in the same breath, Lolit attempted an apology, although she fell short of a retraction. "I'm sorry. I apologize. Ang pagkakamali ko nga lang, e, bakit ikuwinento ko pa yung nakita ko.
"Hindi ko talaga akalain na ganito ang mangyayari, magkakaraoon ng ganitong malisya. Doon nag-so-sorry ako. Pero hindi ko na ma-re-retract yung sinabi ko dahil nakita ko kayo."
Delivering on his threat, Sam Milby with Piolo Pascual filed a 12M-peso libel case against Lolit Solis on November 16. Their joint affidavit stated: "Up to this date, Ms Solis has not made any public retraction of her article and even despicably insisted as to the veracity of her statements in subsequent publications and in her talk show, StarTalk, aired over GMA-7. A purported apology was made by Ms Solis during her talk show. However, a viewing of the same would show that it was nothing but a travesty, which vilifies us further."
The libel case against Lolit Solis included the editor of Pilipino Star Ngayon, Veronica Samio.
In his personal statement, Piolo asserted: "Respect is what this is all about. When Ms Solis wrote her article published on Oct. 15, Ms Solis disrespected and insulted me. What she wrote was baseless and a complete fabrication of events.
"We are suing because our dignity and integrity have been assailed and put to question. We are aggrieved by her article and her subsequent efforts to explain herself at our expense.
"We do not know why she concocted such a blatant lie. Nonetheless, we have given her every opportunity to retract her story and set things right. But our offer of a simple retraction and apology has been met not with contrition and truth but with ridicule and contempt."
Sam's statement noted: "We were not in Sofitel last October 12 so the entire article is a fabrication/concocted story. Worst, she didn't simply say we were nagbubulungan. The article, read in its entirety, shows that she herself was scandalized with what she saw. She pictures us in a romantic interlude awaiting the sunset, scampering like scared rabbits upon learning of her presence. Her article has damaged us and put us in public ridicule."
Lolit's checkered past. When Sam and Piolo filed their complaint in Manila, it was Lolit Solis herself who brought up her history with legal courts.
In 1994, Lolit was front and center of the Metro Manila Filmfest Scam wherein she pleaded guilty on charges of deceit after she switched the results of the award nominations. Thus, her ward at the time, Gabby Concepcion, was declared winner of the Best Actor award instead of the rightful winner, Edu Manzano.
"Sana tahimik na kasi, alam mo, ako kasi nagkaroon na ako noon ng demandang libel, e—kay Alma Moreno, kay Melanie Marquez," Lolit related, pointing out that she was more concerned for her co-respondent. "Magi-guilty ako kapag may nangyari kay Veronica Samio. Tuwing maghi-hearing kami, parang hihimatayin siya lagi. Lagi siyang nanginginig, pinagpapawisan, 'tapos nangingiyak-ngiyak. Sabi ko, ‘Matagal pa 'to kaya kailangan huwag kang ganyan.'"
In a bid to sway the case to her side, on Nov.22, Lolit Solis brought up the fact that there was an existing video tape to prove that Sam and Piolo were at Hotel Sofitel at the time that she said they were.
Lawyer Joji Alonso rebutted: "The issue is whether or not the column of Lolit Solis contained malicious indications or defamation against Piolo and Sam. If you analyze the article closely, whether Piolo and Sam were there, the article in itself is libelous. The fact that Piolo and Sam were not there makes it even worse because it shows the entire story was concocted.
"This is an issue on whether or not there was libel committed."
But the lawyer offered that Lolit still had a way out of the mess. "For as long as she says that with definitiveness that she didn't see Sam and Piolo in Sofitel, and that the whole story was fabricated, and that's she's sorry for what she's done."
Christmas Eve 2007, Lolit Solis proposed: "Willing akong magtrabaho sa kanila nang libre. Hanggang nasa showbiz ako, ako ang magpi-PR sa kanila. Totoo 'yan sa loob ko...Nasa inyo na iyon. Kung talagang Kristiyano kayo, patawarin niyo na ako.
"Ang akin naman talaga, may guilt ako kung bakit sinabi ko. Kung bakit sinabi ko pa yung nakita ko. Ngayon, ‘yung guilt na sinabi ko 'to, nakasakit pala ako ng damdamin, di ba? Pero it doesn't mean na babawiin ko yung sinabi ko na nakita ko sila."
The issue of libel. The Revised Penal Code defines libel as "a public and malicious imputation of a crime, or of a vice or defect, real or imaginary, or any act, omission, condition, status, or circumstance tending to cause the dishonor, discredit or contempt of a natural or juridical person, or to blacken the memory of one who is dead."
"There is nothing libelous about my article," stated Lolit Solis in her rejoinder affidavit on Feb. 7, 2008. "I merely narrated in my article that I saw the two men ‘nagbubulungan' and as they are ‘nagbubulungan,' it obviously follows that ‘halos magkadikit na nga ang mga pisngi nila.'"
But preliminary review of the case said otherwise. On April 11, Lolit was indicted for libel.
"Finding probable cause, it is hereby recommended that respondents [Solis and Samio] be indicted for libel and the corresponding information be filed in court...We believe that all the elements of the offense were established, that there was sufficient evidence that libel was committed," related assistant City Prosecutor Eufrosino Sulla of Manila. Lolit and Veronica were each asked to post a P10,000 bail for their temporary freedom.
In response, Lolit hoped that everything would turn out fine. "Kasi wala namang hindi naayos sa usapan. Hindi naman masyadong grand ito, hindi naman masyadong nakaapekto sa career ni Sam at saka ni Piolo, patuloy pa rin naman silang sikat na sikat. Kaya ang feeling ko, maaayos din ito."
True enough...
On May 21, 2008, Sam and Piolo dropped their case against Lolit Solis and Veronica Samio after Lolit Solis signed a Statement of Retraction that read:
There is no factual basis for my article, which came out on October 12, 2007. I am extremely sorry for dragging the names of Sam and Piolo. Sam, Piolo, I am sorry for the hurt and embarrassment I caused.
Today, it is as if nothing had happened. Sam Milby is busy answering questions about his supposed breakup with Anne Curtis while Piolo Pascual is in the thick of shooting a movie with Angel Locsin. The heartthrobs are still hot.
Lolit Solis, on the other hand, is still busy as tabloid columnist and host of Startalk. She is still beloved "nanay" to celebrities like Lorna Tolentino, Bong Revilla and Lani Mercado.
Life rolls on in showbiz.