Preservationists appalled over alleged plan to turn Army and Navy Club into a casino

Preservationist group Sucesos Heritage Advocacy, Research and Education Society (SHARE) said during a Friday forum that it was concerned over an alleged plan that would turn the historic Army and Navy Club in Manila into a casino.

"The planned reuse of the Army Navy Club building as a gambling facility in the immediate vicinity of Museo Pambata and Quirino Grandstand is problematic,” said SHARE President John Ray Ramos said in a press release. “This poses moral and security concerns to children and their parents visiting the museum and to the people using the Quirino Grandstand for civic, cultural, and religious activities."

Ramos worried that a casino would draw in "unwanted and illegal activities” that would endanger both the children visiting the museum and the public using the grandstand.

During the same forum, historian professor Xiao Chua pointed out that a gambling facility did not beling in Manila's cultural district. "This is not a local issue. We provinciano kids who went to the Museo and Rizal Park definitely benefited from them,” Chua added.

“We as the public own this places. They are our heritage! No developer or politician can just take them away from us. It is just common sense that a casino beside a museum, like a condo behind a national landmark, is wala sa lugar," he declared.,

However, SHARE admitted that it was still verifying if either the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) or the City of Manila had issued permits to the Army and Navy Club's developer.,

Neither has GMA News Online received comment from the PAGCOR as of posting time.

"We hope to resolve this emerging heritage issue before it gets out of hand. Unlike the time when we, as Knights of Rizal, acted and filed the petition against the already half-built Torre de Manila," Ramos said. "Preserving the dignity of the Museo Pambata and Rizal Park and Quirino Grandstand will ensure that we still have public spaces that are safe and fosters creativity, free speech, inspiration, and pride of place and heritage for us and especially for the youth."

It was revealed in September 2014 that Oceanville Hotel and Spa Corp. would restore the former glory of the Army and Navy Club, and transform it into a boutique hotel.

Not long after, the work was suspended after the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) issued a Cease and Desist Order for the redevelopment of the building after finding out that parts of the main building were being dismantled.

During her inspection of the site, Senator Pia Cayetano, chairperson of the committee on education, arts, and culture, said that the developer of the heritage building had gone too far. — DVM, GMA News