BSP to auction Evercrest Golf Club in Batangas

MANILA, Philippines - The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) is set to sell the sprawling Evercrest Golf Club and Resort in Batulao and Nasugbu, Batangas at P1.736 billion to pay the creditors of the defunct Orient Bank of businessman Jose Go.

In an invitation to bid, committee chairman Pedro Tordilla Jr. said interested parties have until 10 a.m. today to submit the bid forms in sealed envelopes.

All bids, according to Tordilla, would be opened immediately after the deadline.

The golf course with hotel and clubhouse is covered by Transfer of Certificate of Title No. 055-2010001003, 055-2010001002, and 055-10001001 covering about 78.8 hectares.

Bidders are required to tender a bid bond equivalent to 10 percent of the offered price while offerors under the negotiated sale basis must submit an earnest money equivalent to 10 percent of the negotiated price either in cash, cashier’s or manager’s check payable to the BSP.

The balance of the bid tendered, the BSP said, should be paid for a maximum period of 10 years subject to an interest rate of seven percent per annum for payment term of not exceeding five years and eight percent per annum for payment term of more than five years up to 10 years.

The central bank added that the interest on the balance of the bid should in no case be lower than the prevailing Treasury bond (T-bond) rate of comparable maturity as of the last auction date prior to the date of the public bidding.

The Evercrest Golf Club and Resort features a golf course as well as 76-room accommodations with balconies overlooking the panoramic view of the famous Caleruega Church as well as the breathtaking Taal vista.

The BSP said the sale of the properties shall be “as-is, where-is” so the bidders should have inspected and determined the condition of the property being sold.

The central bank added that the winning bidder should undertake the responsibility to acquire and maintain peaceful possession and enjoyment of the property without seeking the assistance of the BSP.

The BSP said a Petition for Certiorari with Prayer for Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) or Writ of Preliminary Injunction was filed with the Court of Appeals (CA) by Go against the BSP in August 2009 docketed as CA-G.R. SP No. 109927.

The BSP successfully took over Go’s sprawling Evercrest Golf Club and Resort that was previously valued at P1.2 billion late last year.

The Asian financial crisis forced Go to shut down Orient Bank in 1998

Go controls various companies including the Ever Gotesco Group of Companies, that operates four shopping malls: Gotesco Grand Central, Ever Gotesco Commonwealth Center, Ever Gotestco Ortigas Complex and Ever Recto.

Go and other Orient Bank owners reportedly owe the BSP P6 billion worth of obligations for the emergency advances and overdrafts obtained by the closed bank.

A Manila Court ordered Go, on behalf of his Gotesco Group of Companies, and his brothers, George Co Go and Vicente Co Go, together with Evercrest Golf Club Resorts and Megaheights last December 2003 to pay Orient Bank’s obligations to the BSP including a principal of P2.9 billion.