Darryl Ray Spyke Balingit Yap (born January 7, 1987) is a Filipino film director, screenwriter and producer.

Biography

Early life and education

Yap was born in Olongapo, Zambales to his parents who are school teachers. He graduated in Manila's

Centro Escolar University Centro Escolar University (; ), commonly referred to as CEU, is a private, non-sectarian, coeducational institution of higher education located in Manila, Philippines. Founded in 1907 by Librada Avelino and Carmen de Luna, CEU is recognized a ...

with a

mass communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples o ...

degree and later enrolled at the

Nanyang Technological University Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is a public research university in Singapore. Founded in 1981, it is also the second oldest autonomous university in the country. The university is organised across numerous colleges and schools, includi ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

to pursue a degree in public administration.

Career

Yap started his directing career with the short film ''Squatterina'' that highlighted the similarities between a typical illegal settler in

Olongapo Olongapo (), officially the City of Olongapo (; ; ; Kapampangan: ''Lakanbalen/Ciudad ning Olongapo''), is a highly urbanized city in the Central Luzon region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 260,317 peo ...

and the disciplines of

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

. It was followed by his first full film ''#Jowable'' in 2018 which is about a troubled young woman named Elsa (starring Kim Molina) who yearns for a mature and intimate relationship. The film gained mixed reviews from critics. In May 2020, Yap released a television series entitled '' Sakristan'' about two men coming to terms in finding love despite being church servants. He received widespread criticism before the series' release due to the nature of the title and posters. There were online demands to cancel ''Sakristan'' due to its disrespectful and offensive content to the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. The series was released through

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. In January 2021,

Viva Films Viva Films, Inc. (also known as Viva Films, stylized as VIVA Films) is a Philippine film production and distribution company owned by Viva Communications. It was founded in 1981 by Vic del Rosario Jr. and his sister Tess Cruz. Viva Films is o ...

released '' Paglaki Ko, Gusto Kong Maging Pornstar'', directed and written by Yap. It tells the story of a group of former pornstars gathered to teach an aspiring teen actress on how to be a pornstar, with a cash reward should the actress be launched. The film was prohibited to be shown to the general public by the

Movie and Television Review and Classification Board The Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB; ; is a Philippine government agency under the Office of the President of the Philippines that is responsible for the classification and review of television programs, motion p ...

(MTRCB) due to its sexual and explicit content. A sequel titled '' Pornstar 2: Pangalawang Putok'' was released on December 3, 2021, on

Vivamax VMX is a Philippine video on demand, subscription video on demand over-the-top media service, over-the-top streaming service owned and operated by Viva Communications. It features original Filipino movies and series, as well as a variety of non- ...

. In July 2021, Yap released another film entitled ''Gluta'', about an

Aeta Aeta (Ayta ), Agta and Dumagat, are collective terms for several indigenous peoples who live in various parts of Luzon islands in the Philippines. They are included in the wider Negrito grouping of the Philippines and the rest of Southeast A ...

girl who dreams of winning the

Miss Universe Miss Universe is an annual international major beauty pageant that is run by a Thailand and Mexican-based Miss Universe Organization.Natalie Tadena (July 2, 2015"Donald Trump's Miss USA Pageant Lands on Reelz Cable Channel". ''The Wall Stree ...

pageant but faces discrimination from her own indigenous community. In August 2021, Yap also released an erotic comedy film, '' Revirginized'', about a mother (played by

Sharon Cuneta Sharon Gamboa Cuneta-Pangilinan (born January 6, 1966) is a Filipino actress, singer, and television personality. Prolific in multiple fields of entertainment, she is known for playing dramatic and comedic leading roles in film and television. ...

) who never had a proper

coming of age Coming of age is a young person's transition from being a child to being an adult. The specific age at which this transition takes place varies between societies, as does the nature of the change. It can be a simple legal convention or can b ...

experience. In 2022, Yap wrote and directed the

period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...

historical revisionist In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) scholarly views or narratives regarding a historical event, timespa ...

drama film '' Maid in Malacañang'', and tells the story of the

Marcos family The Marcos family ( , , ) is a political family in the Philippines. They have established themselves in the country's politics, having established a political dynasty that traces its beginnings to the 1925 election of Mariano Marcos to the Phi ...

's last three days in the

Malacañang Palace Malacañang Palace (, ), officially known as Malacañán Palace, is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the Philippines. It is located in the Manila district of San Miguel, Manila, San Miguel, along Jose Laurel S ...

before they were forced to flee to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

during the

People Power Revolution The People Power Revolution, also known as the EDSA Revolution or the February Revolution, were a series of popular Demonstration (people), demonstrations in the Philippines, mostly in Metro Manila, from February 22 to 25, 1986. There was a ...

in 1986. The film received numerous negative reviews from critics and audiences due to its controversial portrayal of the Marcos family and of People Power Revolution figurehead

Corazon Aquino María Corazón "Cory" Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino (; January 25, 1933 – August 1, 2009) was a Filipino politician who served as the 11th president of the Philippines and the first woman president in the country, from Presidency of Corazon ...

. A second installment film '' Martyr or Murderer'' was released in 2023. In 2024, Yap released a

romantic comedy Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...

film, titled ''Seoulmeyt'', about a Filipina fan of

Korean drama Korean drama (), also known as K-drama or Koreanovela, refers to Korean language, Korean-language television shows made in South Korea. These shows began to be produced around the early 1960s, but were mostly consumed domestically until the rise ...

s meets with the man of her dreams until she discovers his fake personality. Starring Kim Molina and

Jerald Napoles Jerald Napoles (; born March 2, 1983) is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality, known for his role as Tolits in the musical stage play ''Rak of Aegis''. He was previously a talent of Triple A Management and worked for GMA Netwo ...

, and also shot in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, the film received positive reviews. In October 2024, it was reported that Yap is planning to do an upcoming movie about the late Filipino actress Pepsi Paloma.

Personal life

A polarizing and controversial figure in the Philippine film industry, Yap is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

and

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, despite his opposing views on the church's teachings. Yap was declared ''

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

'' by the

Quezon City Council The Quezon City Council is Quezon City's Sangguniang Panlungsod or legislature. It is composed of 36 councilors, with 6 councilors elected from Quezon City's six councilor districts (coextensive with the Legislative districts of Quezon City) ...

for an episode of ''VinCentiments'' where the

Seal of Quezon City The Seal of Quezon City is one of the official symbols of Quezon City. The current seal used by the city, adopted in 1975, is a triangular seal with the Quezon Memorial Shrine as its primary element. History Historical seal (1948-1975) An earlie ...

was defaced and actress-comedian

Ai-Ai delas Alas Martina Eileen Hernandez delas Alas-Sibayan (born November 11, 1964), known professionally as Ai-Ai delas Alas, is a Filipino actress and comedian. Referred to as the "Queen of Comedy" for her comedic talent, she is best known for her role as ...

portrayed as Quezon City mayor

Joy Belmonte Joy Belmonte-Alimurung (born Maria Josefina Tanya Go Belmonte; March 15, 1970) is a Filipino politician who has served as the 11th mayor of Quezon City since 2019. A member of the local Serbisyo sa Bayan Party, Belmonte previously served as ...

in a negative way.

Controversies

Sexual assault and pedophilia claims

In 2020, Yap drew controversy for his film ''Ayudamn'', which was condemned on social media for having an offensive remark to

single parent A single parent is a person who has a child or children but does not have a spouse or live-in partner to assist in the upbringing or support of the child. Reasons for becoming a single parent include death, divorce, break-up, abandonment, bec ...

s. A social media user posted a thread showing supposed screenshots of grooming him when he was 16 years old. The user also claimed that Yap's videographer Vincent Asis also had relationships with minors. Yap responded to the claim with a similar thread of screenshots, claiming that during the conversations, the user was allegedly telling him that he was a rape victim. He stated that the user had edited and manipulated the screenshots to maliciously portray him as a child groomer. A Facebook user also accused Yap of perpetuating

pedophilia Pedophilia ( alternatively spelled paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of pube ...

and

child abuse Child abuse (also called child endangerment or child maltreatment) is physical abuse, physical, child sexual abuse, sexual, emotional and/or psychological abuse, psychological maltreatment or Child neglect, neglect of a child, especially by a p ...

amidst the

lockdown A lockdown () is a restriction policy for people, community or a country to stay where they are, usually due to specific risks that could possibly harm the people if they move and interact freely. The term is used for a prison protocol that us ...

put in place due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Yap threatened to file legal complaints against the Facebook user for spreading false information, asserting that he is not a pedophile nor has abused children. Yap also drew backlash for an old tweet in 2017 which he stated "'" (). Among them was former

Commission on Elections An election commission is a body charged with overseeing the implementation of electioneering process of any country. The formal names of election commissions vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction, and may be styled an electoral commission, a c ...

commissioner Rowena Guanzon, who called on the public to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent resistance, nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organisation, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for Morality, moral, society, social, politics, political, or Environmenta ...

Yap's movies and report him to his films' financiers.

Maid in Malacañang

Yap's film, '' Maid in Malacañang'', drew controversy due to several controversial scenes. In one scene shown in the film's trailer,

(played by Giselle Sanchez) was shown telling government forces via telephone to immediately deport the Marcoses from the country while playing

mahjong Mahjong (English pronunciation: ; also transliterated as mah jongg, mah-jongg, and mahjongg) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread throughout the world since the early 20th century. It is played ...

with the

Carmelites The Order of the Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel (; abbreviated OCarm), known as the Carmelites or sometimes by synecdoche known simply as Carmel, is a mendicant order in the Catholic Church for both men and women. Histo ...

Cebu Cebu ( ; ), officially the Province of Cebu (; ), is a province of the Philippines located in the Central Visayas region, and consists of a main island and 167 surrounding islands and islets. The coastal zone of Cebu is identified as a ...

. The accuracy of the scene was debunked by Corazon Aquino's daughter

Kris Aquino Kristina Bernadette Cojuangco Aquino (; born February 14, 1971) is a Filipino retired television presenter, actress, talent manager and film producer. She notably appeared as Princess Intan in the acclaimed '' Crazy Rich Asians'' and is a rec ...

for lacking context. Her fan page on Twitter shared an account from former

Supreme Court In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

associate justice

Cecilia Muñoz-Palma Cecilia Arreglado Muñoz-Palma (November 22, 1913 – January 2, 2006) was a Filipino jurist and the first woman appointed to the Supreme Court of the Philippines. She was appointed to the Supreme Court by President Ferdinand Marcos on October ...

of a phone call between Aquino and

United States Ambassador Ambassadors of the United States are persons nominated by the president to serve as the United States' diplomatic representatives to foreign nations, international organizations, and as ambassadors-at-large. Under Article II, Section 2 of th ...

Stephen W. Bosworth. During their conversation, Bosworth informed Aquino that

Ferdinand Marcos Ferdinand Emmanuel Edralin Marcos Sr. (September 11, 1917 – September 28, 1989) was a Filipino lawyer, politician, dictator, and Kleptocracy, kleptocrat who served as the tenth president of the Philippines from 1965 to 1986. He ruled the c ...

was ready to leave for exile to the United States but requested to stay for a few days in

Paoay Paoay, officially the Municipality of Paoay (; ), is a municipality in the province of Ilocos Norte, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 25,001 people. History In 1701, Paoay was established as a municipality by vi ...

. The account stated that Aquino felt pity for Marcos and wanted to grant him the two days' stay against the advice of her companions. In the end, Aquino called Bosworth to inform Marcos that his request would not be granted and should just leave the country. Bosworth called Aquino back to inform her that Marcos had left the country. The account stated that after Aquino informed her companions of the departure of the Marcoses, the room was in celebration while Aquino remained silent.

18th Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival

In August 2022, Yap was

booed Booing is an act of publicly showing displeasure for someone or something, such as an entertainer or an athlete, by loudly yelling "Boo!" and sustaining the "oo" sound by holding it out. It may be accompanied by hand gestures such as the thumbs ...

by filmmakers at the 18th

Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, more commonly known as Cinemalaya, is a film festival A film festival is an organized, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theater, cinemas or screening venues, usually ann ...

after his name appeared on-screen in the credits of a

Cinemalaya The Cinemalaya Philippine Independent Film Festival, more commonly known as Cinemalaya, is a film festival in the Philippines held annually during the month of August, traditionally at the Cultural Center of the Philippines Complex, but in rece ...

film that he helped create. He stated that he was unable to promote the film due to his work on ''Maid in Malacañang''.

The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma

On January 8, 2025, ''

Eat Bulaga! ''Eat !'' (; stylized as ''Eat... Bulaga!'') is a Television in the Philippines, Philippine television variety show broadcast by Radio Philippines Network, ABS-CBN, GMA Network and TV5 (Philippine TV network), TV5. Originally hosted by Tito S ...

'' host and veteran actor

Vic Sotto Marvic Valentin "Vic" Castelo Sotto (born April 28, 1954), popularly known as Bossing, is a Filipino actor, comedian, and television personality. Prolific in film and television in the Philippines since the 1970s, he is known for playing comed ...

announced to file complaints against filmmaker Darryl Yap after the movie trailer ''

The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma ''The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma'', also known as simply ''Pepsi Paloma'' for the domestic release, is an upcoming Philippine biographical drama film written and directed by Darryl Yap. It stars Rhed Bustamante, Mon Confiado, Gina Alajar, Andres Bal ...

'' mentioned his name. According to a news update from TV5, Sotto, assisted by his legal counsel, filed the complaint at the Muntinlupa City

Regional Trial Court The regional trial courts (RTC; ) are the highest trial courts in the Philippines. In criminal matters, they have original jurisdiction. History It was formerly called as the Court of First Instance since the Spanish colonial period. It cont ...

on January 9, 2025. Yap is currently facing 19 counts of violation for cyber libel or the Section 4 of Republic Act No. 10175, also known as the

Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 The Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012, officially recorded as Republic Act No. 10175, is a law in the Philippines that was approved by President Benigno Aquino III on September 12, 2012. It aims to address legal issues concerning online intera ...

and a

prayer File:Prayers-collage.png, 300px, alt=Collage of various religionists praying – Clickable Image, Collage of various religionists praying ''(Clickable image – use cursor to identify.)'' rect 0 0 1000 1000 Shinto festivalgoer praying in front ...

amounting of moral and exemplary damage. On January 9, 2025, a

Muntinlupa Muntinlupa (), officially the City of Muntinlupa (), is a Cities of the Philippines#Legal classification, highly urbanized city in the Metro Manila, National Capital Region of the Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population o ...

Regional Trial Court granted Sotto's

petition A petition is a request to do something, most commonly addressed to a government official or public entity. Petitions to a deity are a form of prayer called supplication. In the colloquial sense, a petition is a document addressed to an officia ...

and issued a

writ In common law, a writ is a formal written order issued by a body with administrative or judicial jurisdiction; in modern usage, this body is generally a court. Warrant (legal), Warrants, prerogative writs, subpoenas, and ''certiorari'' are commo ...

habeas data ''Habeas data'' is a writ and constitutional remedy available in certain nations. The literal translation from Latin of ''habeas data'' is " e commandyou have the data," or "you he data subjecthave the data." The remedy varies from country to co ...

. The

prerogative writ "Prerogative writ" is a historical term for a writ (official order) that directs the behavior of another arm of government, such as an agency, official, or other court. It was originally available only to the Crown under English law, and reflecte ...

ordered the

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

of portions of the promotional teaser trailer and at the same time required

respondent A respondent is a person who is called upon to issue a response to a communication made by another. The term is used in legal contexts, in survey methodology, and in psychological conditioning. Legal usage In legal usage, this term specificall ...

Yap to submit an answer. In ''

Cristy FerMinute ''Cristy FerMinute'' (previously ''Cristy Per Minute'') is a Philippine television talk show broadcast by ABS-CBN. Originally hosted by Cristy Fermin, Ogie Diaz, John Lapus, Gia Garchitorena, Richard Pinlac, MJ Felipe and Martin D, it aired ...

'',

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

Enrique "Buko" V. Dela Cruz, Jr. revealed that Sotto's daughter Talitha "Tali" Maria Luna was subject of

school bullying School bullying, like bullying outside the school context, refers to one or more perpetrators who have greater physical strength or more social power than their victim and who repeatedly act aggressively toward their victim. Bullying can be ver ...

because of Yap's alleged

defamation Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...

.On January 24, the Court ordered Yap to delete his 26-second teaser video from all

online video platform An online video platform (OVP) enables users to upload, convert, store, and play back video content on the Internet, often via a private server structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally upload video content vi ...

and

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

. It however, permitted his film's production and

art release An art release is the premiere of an artistic production and its presentation and marketing to the public. Film A film release is the authorization by the owner of a completed film to a public exhibition of the film. The exhibition may be in the ...

. On March 18, 2025 Government prosecutors filed two informations for cyberlibel against Darryl Yap before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court after finding prima facie evidence against the filmmaker in connection with the controversial teaser of his film, “''The Rapists of Pepsi Paloma''” (TROPP).

Filmography

Feature films

Television series

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yap, Darryl 1987 births Living people Centro Escolar University alumni Nanyang Technological University alumni Filipino film directors Filipino film producers Filipino Roman Catholics Filipino screenwriters Filipino television directors Filipino people of Chinese descent Filipino LGBTQ screenwriters Filipino LGBTQ film directors LGBTQ television directors People from Olongapo People from Zambales People of Chinese descent Tagalog-language writers 21st-century Filipino LGBTQ people