But nothing went as far as what Lolit Solis did in the Manila Film Festival in 1994. The awards night of the said film festival was marred by allegations of cheating as exposed by then Manila Mayor Alfredo Lim.
The mixup was in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories. Presenters in the Best Actor category Nanette Medved and Ruffa Gutierrez announced the winner to be Gabby Concepcion, while written in the envelope was the name of Edu Manzano. Likewise, in the Best Actress category, Gretchen Barretto, Viveka Babajee and Rocky Gutierrez read the name of Ruffa Gutierrez while the true winner was Aiko Melendez.
The first to squeal over the controversy was Gretchen who was an unwilling participant in the scheme. She pointed at Lolit Solis to be the mastermind of the whole thing. Solis admitted that she planned the scheme, purportedly for the love of her prized ward, Concepcion.
A huge investigation followed, reaching as high as Senate hearings. The event soon died a natural death and everything was forgotten. Most of the names involved made a comeback to local showbiz as if nothing happened.
