Senator Vicente “Tito” Sotto III on Tuesday spoke out against his bashers on social media linking him to the controversial rape case of sexy actress Pepsi Paloma in 1982.

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“There was a time they were asking about Pepsi Paloma, ano kinalaman ko doon? Hindi ata nila alam (ang storya),” Sotto said.

READ: Tito Sotto denies whitewashing Pepsi Paloma rape case

Paloma, a popular Filipino-American sexy actress, was allegedly raped by comedians Joey de Leon, Richie d’ Horsie, and Sotto’s younger brother Vic. Sotto got involved in the controversy after allegations that he used his government position to influence the court decision on Paloma’s case.

During an INQ&A interview, the Senate majority leader was asked about how he deals with with critics who use social media to taunt him. He raised the Pepsi Paloma controversy as an example.

‘I have clippings’

Paloma, who was born Delia Duenas Smith, was among the so-called “soft drink” beauties who became popular in the 1980s. She died in 1985 in what was ruled to be a suicide due to depression allegedly caused by monetary problems.

READ: Was Pepsi Paloma murdered?

The case of Pepsi Paloma has repeatedly resurfaced through online articles. It was also supposedly alluded to in the song “Spolarium” by the iconic band Eraserheads.

READ: The rape of Pepsi Paloma

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But Sotto said the rape issue was just a “gimmick” of Paloma’s manager Rey dela Cruz.

“Just look up the journals of what happened. It was Pepsi Paloma who said there was no rape. It was only a gimmick of Rey Dela Cruz,” he said.

“I even have clippings of the tabloids during that time.”

No context

Sotto admitted that criticisms from netizens used to bother him, but he said now he is no longer affected.

“Nung una somehow naapektuhan ako kasi nga dapat sinasagot yan (At first I was affected because I felt that they should be responded to),” he explained.

“Pero lately naisip ko, hindi na ako nagwo-worry kasi alam ko mali ‘yung thinking o mali yung iniisip kaya yung tanong nila hindi maganda kasi they don’t know the context of what they are asking,” Sotto said.

(But I thought, I shouldn’t worry because I know that they have the wrong idea or their perception is wrong and their questions are inappropriate because they don’t know the context of what they are asking.)

Sotto, during the INQ&A interview, mostly talked about his role as Senate majority leader and the prospects of controversial bills and resolutions such as the reimposition of the death penalty and the investigation of the drug-related killings.

INQ&A, broadcast live every Tuesday, 8 to 9 p.m, via Radyo Inquirer 990AM, INQ 990 Television (Digital Terrestrial Television), and INQUIRER.net’s Facebook and Youtube accounts, is a weekly talk show that aims to deliver insightful interviews with the country’s leading newsmakers.

Inquirer 990 TV can be viewed through ABS-CBN’s TV Plus, RCA and Godan digital TV boxes.

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