Edu Manzano expressed his disdain for certain personalities who allegedly cheated in a recent golf tournament, adding that they come from political families.
Without naming anyone in particular, Manzano took to his Facebook page on Monday, Feb. 9, to call out the individuals who allegedly cheated their way through a golf club tournament, citing friends who were part of the game.
“My golfing friends told me this story earlier today. This kuwento isn’t about golf. This was a character test, and they still cheated,” he said. “Not a world event. Not big money. Just a club tournament and an honor system. A simple scorecard pero nandaya pa rin. That tells us the problem isn’t pressure. It’s personality. It’s habit.”
The actor-host said the personalities come from “political families” and “live off public trust.” He then expressed his concern about how their alleged cheating extends to their day-to-day activities.
“These are political families, people who live off public trust. If they can’t be honest in a low-stakes game, what happens when real power and real money are involved?” he said.
Manzano said golf is supposed to be a “self-policing” sport that operates with “no referee and just conscience.” He also pointed out that cheating at a game is a driving force toward corruption.
“Golf is self-policing. You call penalties on yourself. No referee. Just conscience. So when cheating still happens, the message is clear, winning matters more than truth,” he said. “This is how corruption survives, not only through giant scandals but through small dishonest acts people excuse because ‘laro lang.’ But it’s never just a game. It’s practice. If they cheat when nothing matters, imagine what they do when everything does.”
Manzano didn’t name any golf tournament or participant in particular; however, the Alabang Country Club announced on the same day that the committee of the Mango Tee 38 Member-Guest “unanimously agreed” to withdraw the awards that were given to its winners.
“The Board of Directors of Alabang Country Club Inc. has decided and unanimously agreed to withdraw the awards conferred during the Mango Tee awarding rights on 07 February 2026 to the themes of: (i) Mr. Ronin Leviste and partner Mr. Darren Flores; and (ii) Mr. Luis Raymund Villafuerte and partner Mr. Edward Francisco, due to the highly unusual and statistically improbable submitted scores made by these two abovementioned teams,” it said in a statement.
The country club added that Leviste, Flores, Villafuerte and Francisco agreed to the decision.
Leviste is notably the son of former Batangas vice governor Mark Leviste, while Villafuerte is the incumbent governor of Camarines Sur. (Hannah Mallorca © Philippine Daily Inquirer)
