Makati condo row turns ugly

Tension marked a management dispute over a condominium in Makati City’s central business district Tuesday night, when a shot was fired as one camp accused the other of trespassing.

At the center of contention is Greenstone Serviced Residences Makati on HV De la Costa Street, Salcedo Village, which was formerly known by three different names: Somerset Serviced Residence Salcedo, Stamford Court Salcedo Makati and Infinity Tower Condominium.

The police said about a hundred people led by Greenstone president Oliver Bonus tried to enter the building around 6 p.m. Tuesday but were barred by some 35 security guards of Optimax International Corp. and Beccomax Property Development Corp., the registered owner of 67 condominium units and 103 parking lots in the building.

A security guard fired a shot that reportedly wounded a man from the Greenstone group, Makati police chief Senior Supt. Manuel Lukban said. Both the shooter and victim remained unidentified.

The management of the building has been the subject of a dispute at Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 66 since last year, Lukban said.

On April 11, Optimax secured a court ruling barring Greenstone from “interfering with the management” of the condo and ordered the removal of Greenstone’s staff and guards from the building.

Lukban said the group that tried to enter the building Tuesday included former employees.

According to the officer, Bonus maintains that Greenstone still owns 35 units in the building which were not covered by the court decision.

The Makati police stepped in after a shot was fired and took into custody more than a hundred people from both camps for questioning. They were all released the next day.

Lawyers of the feuding camps signified intentions to file criminal complaints against each other, ranging from trespassing, physical injuries to attempted murder, he added.