Sam Milby to Lolit Solis: Retract or I will sue

Author: ABS-CBNNews.com

Matinee idol and former Pinoy Big Brother housemate Sam Milby is threatening to sue talent manager and entertainment columnist Lolit Solis unless she retracts a story she wrote in a tabloid.

In her story published in Pilipino Star Ngayon, Solis claimed that she saw Milby and fellow matinee idol Piolo Pascual at the Sofitel Hotel in Pasay City as they were "being sweet to each other, exchanging whispers with their cheeks nearly touching" (translated from the original Filipino text).

Solis said that she only saw the two actors--hounded by persistent rumors that they are lovers--by "accident' after she got lost in the hotel on the way to another meeting.

Milby however categorically stated over ABS-CBN's "The Buzz" on Sunday that Solis' story is a complete fabrication.

Talking to "The Buzz" host Boy Abunda, the matinee idol said that he has to draw the line at Solis' claims and threatened to sue her unless she publishes a retraction and makes a public apology.

Milby also told Abunda where he was at around 3 or 4 in the afternoon of October 12, the time that Solis said she saw the two actors on their "date".

"Well, we finished shooting. I'm shooting the movie. The day before we finished shooting the movie around 3 AM then I went home. Then I slept and 3:30 I was at home and then at 3:30 I left to go to Essensuals Toni & Guy in Galleria. Robinson's Galleria. And then from 4 PM on at around maybe 6, 6:30 I was there in Tony & Guy. And then right after that I went to Alabang, Gold's Gym. I had a shooting for the movie again," Milby said.

Milby said unlike the blind items and rumors he faced in the past, Solis' story is something he will not allow to pass.

"You know if it's, this I think is below the belt, yes. I am upset, yes. Because you know if it's her opinion, if she has an opinion about me that's fine. She doesn't know me. But if she's gonna completely fabricate a story and makes something up, that's wrong," he said.

Milby also said that he's wondering why Solis would even bother to make such a story up.

"I mean what are you [Solis] getting out of this, honestly? Because you know it's made up, you know it's completely fabricated so I don't know what you're getting out of this. I'm sorry, I don't want to judge you, I don't know you but I don't know what you're getting out of this," Milby told Solis through the TV camera.

The young actor said that he first ignored the news when if first came out, thinking it was the usual rumor. However, Milby said that he was later shocked by Solis' claim that she saw him and Pascual, and that the two actors fled after they saw her. According to Milby, that incident simply has no basis in actual fact.

"Actually when I first heard about it parang wala lang. It's another you know it's another issue, it's part of the business. But when I heard that she'd been pointed na she saw Piolo and I at Sofitel Hotel, she says she saw us, being sweet to, she says she saw us, it's completely made up. I don't know where it came from," he said.

Speaking to the camera, Milby reiterated his demand from Solis. "Ms. Lolit, I don't have anything against you because I don't know you, I don't know you personally but what you did is below the belt. You completely fabricated this story so I am, I'm demanding for you to, [publish a] retraction and a public apology and that's it or I will sue."

Milby, a professing Christian like Pascual, was asked by Abunda to give a message to his mother who is in the United States.

"Mom, don't worry. Just pray and the truth will come out and righteousness will overcome," he said.

Meanwhile, ABS-CBN's Star Magic, the management company that handles both Milby and Pascual, has been in talks with lawyer Joji Alfonso for possible legal action.

According to Alfonso, what Solis wrote in her column is a crime.

"Ang title pa nga 'di ba 'naglalampungan' (Didn't the column's title say 'naglalampungan')? So what do you mean by that? And the insinuation that has been created is mayroon silang ginagawa (they were up to something). So anong gustong palabasin? Iyon. That shows malice. It's really below the belt. Piolo and Sam don't deserve this. In fact, if they deserve anything at all, it's a retraction because it's not true. It's the story itself and the way it was presented, that's libelous," said Alfonso.

In the Filipino language, "naglalampungan" refers to acts of emotional or physical intimacy between lovers, ranging from the exchange of affectionate statements to actual necking. The term almost always carries a sexual charge and is used to refer to behavior that arouses social disapproval or even disgust.

Solis' most controversial brush with the law was right after the 1994 Manila Film Festival Scam, where she and actress Ruffa Gutierrez were embroiled in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to rig the results of the film festival in the awards for Best Actor and Best Actress.

Solis later admitted to switching the names of the real winners for Best Actor and Best Actress (Edu Manzano and Aiko Melendez) for her talent, Gabby Concepcion and Ruffa Gutierrez.

Source: ABS-CBN News