Metrowalk theft suspects face more raps

A couple who allegedly embezzled P170 million from the earnings of the Metrowalk leisure complex in Pasig City is also facing 14 other cases before various courts in Metro Manila and a nearby province.

Records furnished The Star showed that Rudolf “Chito” Mañalac and his wife, Ma. Theresa, were charged before the courts in the cities of Pasay, Makati, Quezon City, Pasig City, Muntinlupa City, Marikina City and Rodriguez town in Rizal province.

The charges were mostly for estafa or bouncing checks, the records stated. Mañalac is facing 11 charges while his wife has three.

The Pasig City police arrested Ma. Theresa last April 24 on the strength of an arrest warrant issued by Judge Amelia Manalastas of the city’s Regional Trial Court Branch 268 for qualified theft.

After learning of his wife’s arrest, Manalac, tagged as the mastermind in the P170-million embezzlement case, went into hiding, said lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan, who represents Optimus Property Holdings, the firm handling Metrowalk’s day-to-day operations.

Incorporators of the 18-hectare Ortigas commercial complex are readying additional charges against the couple regarding the embezzlement case.

Mañalac refused to return The Star’s text message or answer calls on his cell phone. He earlier told The Star that he would answer in court all allegations thrown him by the management of the Metrowalk facility.

Alentajan said Manalac founded Optimus Property Holdings two years ago and appointed himself as the collector of the company without due notice to the company officials. He appointed his wife as the company’s treasurer.

The tenants regularly paid their monthly dues to the company, but Mañalac did not remit the collections, Alentajan said, adding that if the tenants paid by check, Ma. Theresa would deposit the check and withdraw the money later.

Trouble started after other company officials noticed that there was no income coming in from Metrowalk. They conducted an investigation and removed Ma. Theresa as treasurer after Metrowalk’s tenants disclosed that they have been religiously paying their rent to Mañalac. Getting wind of her removal, Ma. Theresa withdrew P7.3 million before she disappeared and never returned for work.

On the same day, company officials said they started an audit and discovered that the Mañalacs funneled P170 million of Metrowalk’s income into their personal accounts.

Metrowalk officials claimed that they are now in the final stage of their audit of the company’s financial condition. Alentajan said the couple amassed massive wealth when they were handling Metrowalk’s tenants. Before founding Optimus Property Holdings, the Mañalacs could barely afford to pay their children’s tuition, Alentajan said.

Alentajan also cited records showing that the couple currently maintain two BMWs, a black Mercedes Benz, a black Expedition, a black Escape, two Suburbans, a Chrysler, a Hi-Ace, a Nissan Sentra, a black Mitsubishi Grandis and a white Audi.