Manzano faces NBI rap over investment mess

MANILA, Philippines — At least five investors have reported actor Luis Manzano to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) over his company’s failure to recoup their investments in a gas station co-ownership scheme.

In an interview with The STAR yesterday, complainant Jinky Sta. Isabel said she invested in two gasoline stations under a co-ownership scheme offered by Flex Fuel Petroleum Corp. where Manzano sat as board chairman.

Of the P3.9 million that she invested, Sta. Isabel said she was able to recover around P90,000 in 2021. There was no return of investment in 2022.

According to Sta. Isabel, around 100 investors have come out with the same complaints. Four others joined her in filing a complaint with the NBI.

In a statement sent to media offices, Manzano said he also sought an NBI probe into the incident after some investors approached him for help.

He said the corporation also owed him P66 million.

The actor, through his counsel, wrote to NBI Director Medardo de Lemos in November last year to clarify that he has divested his interests in the company and resigned as chairman of the board as early as February last year.

Manzano pointed instead to the corporation’s mother company ICM Group of Companies and its chief executive officer Ildefonso Medel.