Sam Milby's anger is due to Lolit Solis Column in Pilipino Star Ngayon, a tabloid in the Philippines. The column came out last October 15, with the front-page headline, "Sam and Piolo, naglalampungan."
Demand Letter
Ms Solis,
We are writing in behalf of our clients, Mssrs Samuel Lloyd Milby and Piolo Jose N. Pascual.
Our clients referred to us the matter of libelous material, which you wrote in your 15 October 2007 column at Pilipino Star Ngayon. Other articles referring to the same subject matter were subsequently published in other tabloids
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 4:00 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.
On view of the foregoing, we hereby demand a retraction of your malicious article, as well as a public apology. After having maliciously maligned our clients, it is only appropriate that you dispel the negative impression created by your libelous article. Should you not do so within ten (10) days from your receipt of this letter, we shall be constrained to take whatever legal action is appropriate and necessary to protect the interest of our clients.
Our clients still hope that the above matter would be settled without resort to court action. We appeal to your common decency, and hope that you will correct what you have done and refrain from further inflicting injury to our clients.
We trust that this matter merits your preferential attention.
Very truly yours,
RAYALA ALONSO and PARTNERS