techs.. problem

I have an 07 toyota Yaris for a daily. i noticed today while checking the oil that the dipstick is bone ass dry, even after letting it sit for an hr to settle.. under the radiator is a plastic piece that from above look slike a shelf.. there is oil all over that, but nothing in the engine bay is wet.. not even the hoses right above that platic thing.. the frontside of the filter is dry, the backside is wet, the pan is wet, the whole under carriage is soaked.

since half the filter is wet, does it sound like the seal on the filter went bad?

i havent puilled it yet to see, i'm in an apt complex and gotta be discrete about it and i want oil and a filter here for me when i get the old one off.