Remulla sets governance standards, orders shutdown of Sherwood golf club
MANILA, Philippines – Putting more weight on obligation over affiliation, Cavite Gov. Jonvic Remulla acted decisively and ordered the closure of Sherwood Hills Golf Club Tuesday for violating government protocols against the conduct of non-professional sporting events in this time of COVID-19 pandemic.
Through an Executive Order (No. 33), Gov. Remulla cited a report by the Philippine National Police that 91 members of the SHGC, located along Governor’s Drive in Trece Martires City, conducted an unauthorized “tournament” last September 12 in the guise of a “Member’s Day” event.
“By virtue of an EO issued on Sept. 22, 2020, Sherwood Hills Golf course is indefinitely closed because of the aforementioned violation,” said Gov. Remulla on an FB post. “We shall await the response of the club management before we decided to allow its re-opening."
Under the IATF (Inter-Agency Task Force) General Guidelines, mass gatherings in sporting events beyond the 50 percent rule are prohibited. (As amended by Paragraph A (4) (c) of IATF Resolution No. 43, June 3, 2020 and Paragraph B of IATF Resolution No. 56, July 16, 2020) Spectators in all non-contact sports and exercises shall be prohibited, thus organized play is not allowed under quarantine, he pointed out.
“The members tried to circumvent the rules by claiming that there were no trophies, awards, scorecards nor prizes. They made it appear that only token gifts were provided to the participants,” he said.
Philstar.com ran the story last September 16, drawing the ire of the Sherwood Hills management, which vehemently denied it ever violated any government protocols. The club has ceased operations after receiving the order from the provincial office.
“The claim of the club that no tournament was conducted was clearly disingenuous and dishonest because of the organizational efforts made to conduct the same,” said Gov. Remulla, adding the organizers even used a “shotgun” start format to begin play.
“The intent of the organizers from the beginning was to conduct a tournament but was disguised at the last minute in order to evade sanctions,” he added.
The top official also disclosed that he and his family are actually members of the club, adding that they have substantial current real estate holdings in the development of the golf course.
“My family was part of the joint venture to develop the golf course. In fact, my father’s land holdings were our contribution to the development,” he said.
“But we are not exempt, not anyone affiliated with us, from the rule of law,” he emphasized.
“My family carries the weight of enormous responsibilities in the province. Aside from trying our best to be good and honest public servants, we must also be exemplary corporate citizens,” he added.
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