Site liberated in WWII
In a 36-page petition dated February 13, an anti-casino group called the Volunteers against Crime and Corruption asked an appeals court in the Philippines to stop construction of a casino at a onetime Army and Navy Club in Manila.
The group described in the Tribune newspaper as an “anti-crime watchdog” says the Army and Navy Club facility is a national historical landmark that should be preserved and protected, not transformed into a boutique hotel resort with gaming.
The respondents named in the petition were the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp., the country’s gaming regulator; the Manila city government; the National Historical Commission of the Philippines; the Oceanville Hotel and Spa Corp. and Vanderwood Management Corp.
The group said the Manila Elk Club, which now contains the Museo Pambata is next in line for casino developers. The petitioners led by President Dante Jiminez asked the court to “prevent the further desecration of a national historical landmark, to defend the nation’s heritage and to protect the rights and welfare of the Filipino children.”
The Army and Navy Club was founded in 1898 as the first American social club in the Philippines, reported the website Yogonet.com. In 1911, it was moved to its new location opposite the Manila Hotel. In 1942 during World War II, the club was occupied by the Japanese and was heavily damaged. It was liberated by Filipino and American troops in 1945.
In April 1991, the National Historical Institute declared the club a “living monument of Filipino-American friendship and cooperation.”
