OVERVIEW:

The Philippine Daily Inquirer did not yet exist when Pepsi Paloma, a 14-year-old actress, was raped in 1982. She allegedly
killed herself 3 years later, although others believe she was murdered. Her death happened roughly 7 months before the
Inquirer’s birth in December 1985. This year, in an unexpected twist in the history of one of the Philippines' most
influential publications, the rape of Pepsi Paloma has reemerged as a major news story with the Inquirer right at the
center. The sordid tale of sexual assault and the mysterious death of an abused girl has, to many, now also morphed into
a troubling case of press repression. The controversy erupted when Tito Sotto, the comedian-turned-senate president,
sent a letter to the Inquirer demanding that it remove articles on the rape of Pepsi Paloma. The response of the Inquirer,
once a symbol of the fight for press freedom during and after the Marcos dictatorship, was stunning. Just days after
Sotto’s letter, Inquirer gave in to his demand. The articles were deleted from the internet. They were replaced with a
note from an Inquirer editor defending the deletions.The deleted articles included columns by US-based lawyer Rodel
Rodis, who recalled the rape and death of Pepsi Paloma. The articles were based mainly on previously published and
reported accounts of the crime. But something happened: the articles, particularly the lead column titled “The Rape of
Pepsi Paloma,” went viral. By earlier this year, it had already been shared more than 100,000 on Facebook. After
appearing in a handful of films, Paloma was involved in a highly-publicized scandal when she accused comedians Vic
Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Ricardo "Richie D'Horsie" Reyes of rape.
From 4 years ago
The Inquirer editor did not mention that the articles had gone viral.
Instead the editor said the news outlet had asked Rodis “to substantiate some of the allegations he made on his
contributed pieces through an email we sent to him on June 23, 2018. Up to now, we haven’t received any reply from
him.” It’s important to stress here that we’re talking about articles that were published about 4 years ago, columns that
have been shared by tens of thousands of people and that were still being shared on social media. Suddenly, after Sotto
demanded that they be taken down, the Inquirer decided they weren’t good enough. “In making this decision, we are
adhering to journalism’s core values of accuracy, fairness, balance, integrity and responsibility,” the Inquirer statement
said. “Any doubt or question on the veracity of its articles are taken seriously and dealt with properly in accordance with
our values and principles. We do this on all stories, features, and opinion pieces.

Type II Error:
Analysis: Pepsi Paloma was involved in a highly-publicized scandal when she accused comedians Vic
Sotto, Joey de Leon, and Ricardo "Richie D'Horsie" Reyes of rape. Until know the called “innocent” right
know must be guilty.