Golf club power play may wind up in court

A group of shareholders of Manila Southwoods Golf and Country Club on Thursday said they would “take legal action” against the group of club chairman Robert John Sobrepeña for allegedly rigging the organization’s annual meeting to allow him to “remain in power,” the group said in a statement.

During last week’s meeting, Sobrepeña reportedly registered only one of his 44 validated proxies, effectively blocking the so-called reform group’s efforts to vote in a new chairman, according to the statement issued by group representatives Jimmy Gosiaco and Ernie Salazar.

The reform group also noted that the meeting was only seven shares or proxies short of a quorum.

Gosiaco and Salazar said they would seek redress from the Securities and Exchange Commission and file individual criminal cases against Sobrepeña and his allies in and out of the board.

The group said they also intend to sue club president Edward Dy for registering only 80 out of 127 proxies; Paco Gonzalez, for registering four out of 108 proxies; and Manolo Agojo, who was present but did not use any of his 25 validated proxies.

Other board members belonging to Sobrepeña’s group did not attend the annual meeting. They were Rafael Perez de Tagle with 64 proxies, and Alfredo Mendoza with 23 proxies.

Gosiaco said Sobrepeña would have lost his 19-year hold on the club’s board had the election proceeded. The reform group, at present, holds five seats to Sobrepeña’s six on the 11-man board.

Gosiaco described their case against the Sobrepeña group as “solid,” adding that, aside from “betraying their annual mandate to ensure proper elections,” the Southwoods chairman also allegedly “manipulated the number of delinquent shares.”

During its May 11 meeting, the board was informed that 213 shares were already delinquent, while 404 additional shares would soon be declared so.

“How this number went down to 132 on election day needs to be audited. And if fraud was committed, then those who cheated the members of a proper election would have to face the music,” said the statement from Gosiaco and Salazar.