For veteran talent manager Lolit Solis, her involvement in the 1994 Manila Film Festival scam was both a nightmare and the biggest lesson in her life.
Solis manipulated the result for the Best Actor and Best Actress on the awards ceremony of the said festival held on June 22, 1994. Instead of Edu Manzano and Aiko Melendez, Solis’ talent Gabby Concepcion and beauty queen Ruffa Gutierrez won in the respective categories.
The talent manager reflected about her involvement in the scam on a post she shared via Instagram today, Nov. 12. She reminisced about the time when she used to be a caster every time there is an awards night.
“Feeling bida-bida ako pag mga araw na may awards night dahil ako tagatawag ng mga presentor (sic), ako ang abalang-abala,” she wrote. “For so many years sa akin ipinagkatiwala iyon trabahong iyon, hanggang nagawa ko isang malaking pagkakamali sa buhay ko, [iyong] scam.”
(I feel very important every time there is an awards night because I am responsible for calling the presenters, I was very busy then. For so many years, that job was entrusted to me. That was until I made the biggest mistake in my life — the scam.)
Because of what happened, she lost her career as a caster. She recounted that after the issue, she refrained from going to awarding ceremonies to avoid any more issues.
“Ang tagal kong iniyakan na wala na ako sa mga preparation ng awards night, hindi na ako pumupunta sa parada ng film fest, hindi na ako reyna-reynahan sa mga gabi ng parangal,” she said. “It was a nightmare for me, the biggest lesson in my life.”
(I cried for so long, how I was no longer part of the preparations for the awards night, how I no longer go to film fest parades, that I no longer reign like a queen during an awards night. It was a nightmare for me, the biggest lesson in my life.)
It was not the first time Solis looked back at the incident. She took to the same platform last year to admit her guilt over her involvement in the scam.
“I am guilty, ako talaga ang gumawa ng scam gusto ko lang malaman n’yo rin ang mga bagay na [totoong] nangyari (I really did the scam, I just want you to know what really happened),” she stated. “One day I will tell that, one day I will confess. Forgive me for the scam I [committed] forgive me.” JB
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