I wanted to watch a movie yesterday and found out that all cinemas in CDO were showing Tagalog films. What was happening? Then my friend told me it was due to the Manila Film Festival.
I am not really a fan of the Manila Film Festival. For the past decades, the film festival has been hounded by controversies and scandals. Every year someone complaints that he or she was cheated. The worst was in 1994, when hosts, Viveka Babajee-Ms. Universe-Mauritius, Rocky Gutierrez (brother of Ruffa Gutierrez) and Gretchen Barretto tried to change the names of the winners in favor of Ruffa Gutierrez and Gabby Conception. Lolit Solis was implicated as the master mind of the scam. After the incident, Gabby Conception, Viveka Babajee and Ruffa Gutierrez left the Philippines and stayed abroad for sometime.
Years later, Ruffa Gutierrez became a Ms. World title holder, Gabby Conception returned back to the country and the showbiz industry, Viveka Babajee committed suicide and Lolit Solis remained an influential producer. Typical of Filipino justice, the people involved in the scam were never imprisoned or punished.
I am not really a fan of the Manila Film Festival. For the past decades, the film festival has been hounded by controversies and scandals. Every year someone complaints that he or she was cheated. The worst was in 1994, when hosts, Viveka Babajee-Ms. Universe-Mauritius, Rocky Gutierrez (brother of Ruffa Gutierrez) and Gretchen Barretto tried to change the names of the winners in favor of Ruffa Gutierrez and Gabby Conception. Lolit Solis was implicated as the master mind of the scam. After the incident, Gabby Conception, Viveka Babajee and Ruffa Gutierrez left the Philippines and stayed abroad for sometime.
Years later, Ruffa Gutierrez became a Ms. World title holder, Gabby Conception returned back to the country and the showbiz industry, Viveka Babajee committed suicide and Lolit Solis remained an influential producer. Typical of Filipino justice, the people involved in the scam were never imprisoned or punished.
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| Gretchen Barretto, Viveka Babajee and Rocky Gutierrez in 1994 |
