Luis Manzano cleared in Flex Fuel estafa case; 12 others face raps

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has filed a case for syndicated estafa against 12 officers of the Flex Fuel Petroleum Corporation over an alleged investment scam.

Actor-host Luis Manzano, reported former chairperson of the fuel company,  was meanwhile cleared of the allegations against him, according to "Fast Talk with Boy Abunda" on Thursday.

“Ayon sa imbestigasyon ng NBI, walang kinalaman… si Luis sa alleged investment scam dahil nag-resign na ito mula sa Flex Fuel noong 2021, ang taon kung kailan nag-invest ang mga nagrereklamong investors,” Abunda said.

(Based on the investigation of the NBI, Luis is not involved in the alleged investment scam because he resigned from Flex Fuel in 2021, the year that the investors invested.)

“Kaya hindi sinama ng NBI si Luis sa 12 officers ng Flex Fuel na pormal nilang sinampahan ng kasong syndicated estafa,” he added.

(This is why the NBI did not include Luis among the 12 Flex Fuel officers that they formally filed syndicated estafa against.)

In February, several investors filed complaints against Manzano and other personalities linked to the oil firm before the NBI.

Manzano had also previously asked the NBI to probe Flex Fuel after some of its investors approached him to request back what they had invested into the company. Manzano said he lost P66 million

When sought for comment, actress-politician Vilma Santos-Recto, Manzano’s mother, said she was “feeling heaven.”

“At nagpapasalamat siya sa Diyos sa pagkaka-abswelto ni Luis,” Abunda said.

Earlier, officials of Flex Fuel denied any involvement in alleged investment scams, as they expressed willingness to work with authorities to address any concerns.

“There is absolutely no truth to the claim that Flex Fuel is involved in any form of scam or fraud against our stakeholders,” the company had said in a statement.

“In fact, all of our transactions, especially with our stakeholders, are transparent, fair, and legal… Flex Fuel has never guaranteed any profit to its partners and has always made it clear to them that, like any other legitimate business venture, these profits depend on business performance,” it added.—LDF, GMA Integrated News