Over 60,000 ‘embo’ residents get Makati health services

MANILA, Philippines — After a land dispute that left residents of two cities in disarray, over 60,000 inhabitants of 10 enlisted men’s barrios or “embo” barangays in Taguig are still benefitting from health services provided by the Makati government.

“Our commitment to public service knows no boundaries,” Makati Mayor Abby Binay said yesterday.

Of the 95,000 non-residents who availed themselves of Makati’s health care services since January last year, 68,266 came from the embo barangays.

Ospital ng Makati has recorded almost 40,000 non-residents who had free check-ups.

About 36,000 non-resident patients sought emergency services and 3,000 entered confinement.

Health centers and mobile caravans have posted around 16,000 non-residents who received medical treatment.

“Numbers from the past year demonstrate that we remain steadfast in our mission to extend Makati’s excellence in public health beyond our geographical jurisdiction,” Binay said.

Since January 2024, embo residents no longer have access to Makati’s subsidized health care program after the Supreme Court ruled that the 10 villages were “within the territorial jurisdiction of Taguig City.”

Binay has told Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano, husband of Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano, to be “man enough” to admit that Taguig fell short in matching Makati’s health care services for embo residents.

Ownership of Ospital ng Makati remains disputed since the facility is in Barangay Pembo, with Makati claiming that Taguig refused to enter into an agreement regarding the management of the hospital’s properties situated within the embo barangays.