Vic Sotto

Marvic Valentin "Vic" Castelo Sotto (born April 28, 1954), popularly known as Bossing, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality. Active in Philippine film and television since the 1970s, he is known for his comedic roles in sitcoms and films. He is also one of the original hosts of Eat Bulaga!, alongside his elder brother Tito Sotto and Joey de Leon.

Sotto began his career in the 1970s as a member of the disco band VST & Company, where he helped the group popularize the hit songs "Ikaw ang Aking Mahal", "Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko", "Magsayawan", and "Rock Baby Rock". He later formed a trio with his brother Tito and Joey de Leon, dubbed as "TVJ"; the three would star together in the long-running sitcom Iskul Bukol (1978–1988). Since 1979, Sotto has hosted the noontime variety show Eat Bulaga! He became one of the founders of TVJ Productions, with Eat Bulaga! being carried over with it after leaving the original production company, TAPE Inc..

Sotto has appeared in the other sitcoms, such as Okay Ka, Fairy Ko!, Daddy Di Do Du, Ful Haus, Vampire ang Daddy Ko, Hay, Bahay!, Daddy's Gurl and Open 24/7. In film, he played the lead role as the title character in the Enteng Kabisote film series. His other notable films include Lastikman (2003), Ang Darling Kong Aswang (2009), My Little Bossings (2013), Jack Em Popoy: The Puliscredibles (2018), and Mission Unstapabol: The Don Identity (2019). He has also ventured into television hosting, appearing in Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and Bossing & Ai.

Early life and background

Marvic Valentin Castelo Sotto was born on April 28, 1954, to Marcelino Antonio “Nonong” Ojeda Sotto and Herminia Castelo Sotto. He has three brothers: Val Sotto (b. 1945), Tito Sotto (b. 1948), and Marcelino Antonio Sotto Jr. (b. 1951). He finished his secondary education at Colegio de San Juan de Letran.

Sotto lived for many years in Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija. In 2017, he was honored as Ang Natatanging Anak ng Kabanatuan (ANAK) by the city government during the annual Banatu Festival, in recognition of his contributions to the Philippine entertainment industry. The award held special significance for Sotto, who stated in his speech that he spent half of his life in Cabanatuan.

Career

Before gaining recognition in the 1970s, Sotto began as a singer and guitarist at Vicor Music Corporation, where his brother Tito Sotto also worked. His debut solo album with the label was successful. He later formed VST & Company with his brothers Tito and Val, which produced dance hits such as “Awitin Mo at Isasayaw Ko” and “Rock, Baby, Rock" (1978). He later joined the gag show OK Lang on IBC 13, where he formed a trio with his brother Tito and comedian Joey de Leon, known as TVJ. The group subsequently rose to prominence on the GMA Network variety shows Discorama (1975–1977) and Student Canteen (1975–1986) and gained their largest television following through the hit sitcom Iskul Bukol (1978–1988). This success led to their selection as hosts of Eat Bulaga! (1979–present), the longest-running noontime variety show on Philippine television.

Other ventures

Endorsements

Sotto is a product endorser. In 2024, he was the first and only official brand ambassador of PlayTime PH, a licensed online gambling corporation.

Personal life

Sotto married Dina Bonnevie in 1982, and they had two children: Danica (born 1983) and Oyo (born 1984). The couple separated in 1986, and their marriage was annulled in 1992. Actress Coney Reyes joined Eat Bulaga! in 1982–1991 as a replacement for Chiqui Hollmann. During her tenure, she had a relationship with Sotto, and they had a son, politician Vico Sotto (b. 1989). Angela Luz was a former leading lady of Sotto in the television series Okay Ka, Fairy Ko1; they began a relationship after his separation from Coney Reyes. Luz later gave birth to Vic Sotto’s fourth child, Paulina.

He also had relationships with his fellow Eat Bulaga! co-hosts, Christine Jacob in the early 1990s and Pia Guanio in the late 2000s, but both ended in breakups. Jacob quit hosting Eat Bulaga! after ending the relationship, and Guanio stayed in the show.

Eventually, he married actress Pauleen Luna, who is also an Eat Bulaga! co-host. Their age gap is thirty-four years. They were married on January 30, 2016, at Saint James the Great Parish Church, in Ayala Alabang, and have two daughters.

Controversies

Pepsi Paloma gang rape case

In 1982, the 15-year-old actress Pepsi Paloma accused Sotto and fellow comedians Joey de Leon and Richie D'Horsie of gang raping and taking photos of her on June 21 in a room at the Sulo Hotel in Quezon City. On July 31, Paloma's manager Rey Dela Cruz lodged a formal complaint with Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile. On August 18, Paloma filed charges of rape and acts of lasciviousness against the three television personalities before the Quezon City fiscal's office. The crime of rape at the time, carried the death penalty in the Philippines, and to prevent his brother from being sent to the electric chair, Tito Sotto quickly went to see Paloma while she was still securing the services of attorney Rene Cayetano. According to Paloma, Tito Sotto pressured her into signing an "Affidavit of Desistance" to drop the rape charges against his brother and cohorts—Tito Sotto had allegedly placed a pistol on the table in front of Paloma when he went to talk to her.

In exchange for the dismissal of the charges of rape, Vic Sotto, de Leon and D'Horsie issued a public apology to Paloma:

We hope that you will not allow the error we have committed against you to stand as a stumbling block to that future which we all look forward to. We therefore ask you to find it in your heart to pardon us for the wrong which we have done against you.

Despite the suspects' earlier apology, Tito Sotto has maintained his position against any involvement in the whitewashing of the rape case and alleges that the scandal was a gimmick by Paloma's party for publicity. Again, in spite of a live apology issued to the people, Sotto said that he was not involved as a perpetrator in the rape of Paloma and he denied using his position in government to influence the court decision. Sotto became Vice Mayor in Quezon City in 1988 before being elected as a Senator in 1992. In 2018, Sotto requested The Philippine Inquirer to remove published articles available online mentioning the Pepsi Paloma Case, claiming them to be "fake news" and damaging to his current reputation as a Senator.

In May 1985, Paloma was found dead in an apparent suicide, though evidence suggests this was actually murder in order to prevent her from testifying against Sotto in court. Dela Cruz was murdered years later.

In January 2025, a Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court granted Sotto's petition and issued a writ of habeas data. The prerogative writ ordered the censorship of portions of the Pepsi Paloma promotional teaser trailer and at the same time required respondent Darryl Yap to submit an answer. On Cristy FerMinute, lawyer Enrique "Buko" V. Dela Cruz, Jr. said that Sotto's daughter was bullied in school because of Yap's alleged defamation. Sotto thereafter filed 19 cyber libel cases against Yap with the Muntinlupa Court, regarding the showing of The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma teaser trailer which mentioned Sotto's name. On January 24, the Court ordered Yap to delete his 26-second teaser video from all online video platforms and social media.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

See also

• Pepsi Paloma
• Spoliarium (Eraserheads song)
• The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma (film)

External links

• Media related to Vic Sotto at Wikimedia Commons
• at IMDb