{{Short description|Social club for high society Filipinos}} {{use mdy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Infobox organization | name = Club Filipino | full_name = | native_name = <!-- organization's name in its local language --> | native_name_lang = <!-- required ISO 639-1 code of the above native language --> | logo = Club Filipino logo.png | logo_size = 100px | logo_alt = | logo_caption = Logo | image = Clubfil4jf.JPG | image_size = 250px | image_alt = <!-- see WP:ALT --> | caption = Clubhouse | map = <!-- map image --> | map_size = <!-- defaults to 250px --> | map_alt = | map_caption = | map2 = <!-- 2nd map image, if required --> | map2_size = | map2_alt = | map2_caption = | abbreviation = | nickname = | pronunciation = | pronounce_ref = | pronounce_comment = | named_after = | predecessor = | merged_into = <!-- any other organization(s) which it was merged into --> | successor = | established = {{start date and age|1898|11|6}} | founder = <!-- or |founders = --> | founding_location = | dissolved = <!-- or |defunct = --><!-- use {{end date and age|YYYY|MM|DD}} --> | merger = <!-- other organizations (if any) merged with, to constitute the new organization --> | type = Social club | tax_id = <!-- or |vat_id = (for European organizations) --> | registration_id = <!-- for non-profits --> | status = <!-- legal status and/or description (company, charity, foundation, etc.) --> | purpose = <!-- or |focus = --><!-- humanitarian, activism, peacekeeping, etc. --> | professional_title = <!-- for professional associations --> | headquarters = | location = Greenhills, San Juan, Metro Manila, Philippines | coordinates = {{coord|14.60404|N|121.04875|E|region:PH_type:landmark|format=dms|display=inline,title}} | origins = | region_served = <!-- or |area_served = or |region = --> | products = <!-- or |product = --> | services = | methods = <!-- or |method = --> | fields = <!-- or |field = --> | membership = <!-- number of members --> | num_members_year = <!-- year to which membership numbers/data apply --> | language = <!-- or |languages = --><!-- any official language or languages used --> | owner = <!-- or |owners = --> | secretary_general = <!-- or |gen_sec for General Secretary --> | leader_title = <!-- defaults to "Leader" --> | leader_name = | leader_title2 = | leader_name2 = | leader_title3 = | leader_name3 = | leader_title4 = | leader_name4 = | board_of_directors = | key_people = | main_organ = <!-- or |publication = --><!-- organization's principal body (assembly, committee, board, etc.) or publication --> | parent_organization = <!-- or |parent_organisation = --> | subsidiaries = | secessions = | affiliations = | budget = | budget_year = | revenue = | revenue_year = | disbursements = | expenses = | expenses_year = | endowment = | endowment_year = | num_staff = | num_staff_year = | num_volunteers = | num_volunteers_year = | num_students = | num_students_year = | awards = | website = <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> | remarks = | former_name = Club Filipino Independiente<br />Club Internationale | footnotes = | bodystyle = }} '''Club Filipino''' (pronounced ''klub'', {{IPA|tl|ˌklub fɪ.lɪˈpiː.n̪o|lang}}) is the first exclusive social club in the Philippines, founded on November 6, 1898 by Filipino high society, including Spanish ''mestizos'' and members of the native aristocracy.<ref>{{cite web|title=Edsa Revolution Trivia|url=https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/51527-edsa-revolution-trivia/|publisher=Rappler|access-date=2 May 2014}}</ref> It is located between North Greenhills subdivision and the Greenhills Shopping Center in San Juan.
The club's present amenities include a swimming pool, tennis, badminton and squash courts, bowling alleys, outdoor restaurant, salon, and "Kalayaan Hall," an indoor events/reception room.
==History== Originally an elite Filipino country gentlemen's organisation, it was originally called Club Filipino Independiente, later changed to Club Internationale and finally, Club Filipino. The club has developed a reputation for being a meeting ground for Filipino political progressives throughout its history,<ref>{{cite news |author=Ram Mercado |title=Mercado: Forting Aguas remembers |url=http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/02/22/oped/ram.mercado.html |publisher=Sun Star Pampanga |date=2006-02-22 |accessdate=2009-01-14 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120918230319/http://www.sunstar.com.ph/static/pam/2006/02/22/oped/ram.mercado.html |archive-date=2012-09-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref> and was the site of several political events immediately prior and during the country's Post-Martial Law Era.
Prior to its current location in Greenhills, San Juan, the club was located at the Bachrach Mansion along Manga Avenue corner Buenos Aires Street in Santa Mesa, Manila. At the said location, President Ramon Magsaysay inaugurated it on September 21, 1956, after arriving directly from a very rough flight from Davao City. The President himself joined the exclusive club the very same day.<ref name="Official Gazette">{{cite web |title=Official Month in Review: September 16 – September 30, 1956 |url=https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1956/09/30/official-month-in-review-september-16-september-30-1956/ |website=The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines |publisher=Office of the President |accessdate=5 May 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=December 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The said house was owned by Russian-American Jew Emil Bachrach, who was a successful businessman in Manila during the Philippine Commonwealth. During World War II, the house was commandeered by Gen. Tomoyuki Yamashita upon his assignment in the Philippines, and later on was taken up as residence by Gen. Douglas MacArthur and his family.<ref name="Manila Nostalgia">{{cite web |last1=Gopal |first1=Lou |title=Emil Bachrach – Bachrach Motors |url=http://www.lougopal.com/manila/?p=3459 |website=Manila Nostalgia |accessdate=5 May 2020 |date=24 September 2015}}</ref><ref name="Manchester">{{cite book |last1=Manchester |first1=William |title=American Caesar : Douglas MacArthur, 1880-1964 |date=1978 |publisher=Little, Brown |isbn=978-0-316-54498-6 |pages=424–425 |edition=1st}}</ref>
The present location in Greenhills was inaugurated on October 18, 1970,<ref name="Manila Nostalgia"/> and served as the venue for the inauguration of President Corazon Aquino on 25 February 1986 at the height of the People Power Revolution. This was also where Governor Luis "Chavit" Singson went public with an alleged illegal gambling (''jueteng'') payroll scam involving then-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada in 2000. On September 9, 2009, Corazon Aquino's son, then-Senator Benigno Aquino III, announced his bid at the club to run as the presidential candidate for the Liberal Party in the 2010 general election.<ref>{{cite web|title=Club Filipino: The First Exclusive Social Club in the Philippines|url=http://www.allphilippines.com/club-filipino-the-first-exclusive-social-club-in-the-philippines/|publisher=All Philippines|accessdate=2 May 2014}}</ref> Six years later, on July 31, 2015, then-President Aquino III formally endorsed Mar Roxas as the LP's presidential candidate for the 2016 elections in the "Gathering of Friends" held at the venue itself. On February 13, 2025, the club became the venue of the kick-off rally of PDP–Laban's senatorial slate ahead of the 2025 election, with former President Rodrigo Duterte in attendance.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/nation/936126/duterte-backed-pdp-laban-kicks-off-eleksyon2025-senatorial-bid/story/|title=Duterte-backed PDP Laban kicks off Eleksyon 2025 senatorial bid|first=Giselle|last=Ombay|date=February 13, 2025|accessdate=February 16, 2025|work=GMA Integrated News}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Commons category-inline}} * [http://www.allphilippines.com/club-filipino-the-first-exclusive-social-club-in-the-philippines/] * [https://www.rappler.com/newsbreak/iq/51527-edsa-revolution-trivia/]
{{Sports venues in the Greater Manila Area}}
Category:Organizations based in Metro Manila Category:Organizations established in 1898 Category:Buildings and structures in San Juan, Metro Manila Category:Cultural Properties of the Philippines in Metro Manila Category:Sports venues in Metro Manila
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