Subic yacht club members oppose casino proposal

Some members of the Subic Bay Yacht Club (SBYC) are opposing the plan of creditor banks to convert the exclusive yacht club into a casino.

Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) chairman Felicito Payumo earlier said creditor banks of Triple V have decided to take over the SBYC shares pledged by restaurateur Victor "Vic-Vic" Villavincencio as collateral for his P1-billion loans from various financial institutions.

Sources said Villavicencio and other members of the club represented by lawyer Candido Flor are opposed to the plan of creditor banks to convert the exclusive yacht club into a casino.

Sources, however, said the casino proposal is only a possible option. They added that creditor banks are still open to the other possibility of selling their shares through a bidding on Aug. 2.

"The casino proposal is just part of the overall plan to redevelop the yacht club into a total entertainment resort in the same mold as Las Vegas," sources said.

While the casino operation would cater to adult males, there will also be family and children-oriented facilities and shopping arcades for the "shopaholic" females, they added.

The sources said Villavicencio’s creditor banks now control 40 percent of the yacht club by virtue of the 1,200 shares they hold out of the total outstanding shares of 3,000.

Land Bank of the Philippines has the most shares at 740, followed by the Metropolitan Bank and Trust Co. with 105 shares. The Philippine National Bank has 58 shares, while Asiatrust owns 57 shares. The Bank of the Philippine Islands has 40 shares and at least seven other banks have shares in the SBYC.