Supreme Court junks Pateros bid to reclaim Fort Boni land

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) threw out a bid by the municipality of Pateros to recover 872 hectares of Fort Bonifacio that were declared under the jurisdiction of the Makati City government during the Aquino administration.

The SC’s third division instead directed Makati and Pateros to have their respective councils amicably resolve their boundary dispute, as mandated by the Local Government Code (LGC).

Should efforts by the councils to settle the dispute amicably within 60 days, a certification will be issued to that effect. The dispute will then be formally tried by the councils concerned and decided within 60 days.

The SC noted that when Pateros filed its complaint for judicial declaration of the territorial boundaries of Pateros with the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati, the latter was still a municipality and had no sanggunian that could take cognizance of the boundary dispute.

Records showed that Pateros filed with the Makati RTC a complaint against Makati, claiming that it had an original area of 1,038 hectares based on historical and official records.

However, when a cadastral mapping was conducted by the Bureau of Lands in 1978, Pateros said its territory had been substantially reduced to 166 hectares.

Pateros wants to reclaim portions of then Fort William Mckinley, now known as Fort Bonifacio which include Barangays Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo and Comembo.

The municipal government said that the disparity was brought about by the issuance of Proclamation Nos. 2475 and 518. – Edu Punay