1994 Manila Film Festival scandal
A subsequent investigation launched by Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim and testimony from a co-host, actress Gretchen Barretto uncovered a plot involving the hosts and masterminded by the event's talent coordinator Lolit Solis to deliberately alter the results of the competition in favor of Gabby Concepcion, the initial winner of the Best Actor award whom she also managed as an agent, and Gutierrez, who was also his co-star in his film.
[4] It also became part of a series of controversies that hounded Gabby Concepcion during that time, which included the annulment of his marriage to actress Sharon Cuneta and other marital troubles as well as accusations of bigamy and failure to fulfill his contractual obligations in the entertainment industry.
[11] The scandal generated massive domestic and international coverage and uproar, with then-First Lady Amelita Ramos complaining that it dominated discussions among her hosts during an official visit to Europe.
The Alex Boncayao Brigade, an urban hit-squad formation which broke off from the communist New People's Army, threatened to assassinate those implicated in the controversy unless they were brought to justice by the legal system,[5] while cinemas in Manila and other cities refused to show films featuring Gutierrez and Concepcion.
[6] Ruffa Gutierrez denied any involvement in the scandal and refused to return her award, while Solis threatened to burn Concepcion's trophy in front of Manila City Hall before giving it back, before later saying she was willing to exchange it for "cash", with a figure of $38,000 being mentioned.
[5] On 28 June, charges of fraud, deceit, grave scandal and obstruction of justice were filed against the Gutierrez siblings, Rama, Concepcion, Babajee, Medved and Solis by the Manila city government following the conclusions of the fact-finding committee's investigation.
[5] In an interview years after, she admitted fearing that Concepcion, whose career at the time, she said, was fading, would lose out on the award to Richard Gomez, the lead actor in Maalaala Mo Kaya: The Movie, and did not actually expect Edu Manzano to win instead.
[6] In 2002, the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 8 headed by Judge Felixberto Olalia Jr. dismissed the fraud charges against the Gutierrezes after their lawyers filed a demurrer to evidence, which was not countered by prosecutors.
[1] Gabby Concepcion quit acting after the scandal and moved to the United States, where he worked as a real estate agent[13] before returning to the Philippines in 2008 to make a comeback in the entertainment industry.
[15] Viveka Babajee pursued her acting and modeling career in India before committing suicide in Mumbai in 2010, 16 years to the day Gretchen Barretto spoke out on the scandal, from reasons unrelated to the controversy.
In subsequent interviews, Solis expressed continuing regret over the affair, saying that she had apologized to and reconciled with the actors involved in the scandal,[3] but had stopped attending awarding ceremonies after the controversy, which she referred to as both a "nightmare and the biggest lesson in her life".
[17] Alfredo Lim's swift handling of the controversy[18] raised his national profile[5] and contributed to his decision to launch an ultimately unsuccessful bid for the Philippine presidency in the 1998 elections.
