Taguig hits Makati over ‘show of force’

MANILA, Philippines - Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano criticized the Makati City government for using excessive force to take custody of several Makati engineers conducting a survey of Palar Village.

She said the engineers were invited for questioning since they were conducting a survey without authority from the Taguig City government or barangay officials last Thursday.

“I am appalled by Makati’s show of force in Palar Village. We peacefully invited the Makati engineers for discussion, but the Makati police showed up and used an unnecessary amount of force to take them,” Cayetano said.

The Taguig public order and safety office (POSO) said that when the engineers were already in Taguig’s government vehicles, eight Makati police cars with more than 30 policemen – including fully armed members of the Special Weapons and Tactics team – arrived to take custody of the survey team.

The POSO said Makati police officers made threatening gestures, as evidenced by photos taken by Taguig employees.

“We were unfairly described by Makati to have engaged in ‘Gestapo’ tactics, but who brought the guns to the otherwise peaceful incident?” Cayetano said.

Cayetano reiterated her call to Makati Mayor Junjun Binay to just wait for the final ruling on the territorial dispute, saying that Taguig City will continue to exercise jurisdiction over the area.

Binay has directed Makati’s legal department to file administrative and criminal charges against Taguig’s POSO personnel.

“Since when is it illegal to conduct a land survey? For 20 years, Southside has been neglected. We are correcting this injustice and they respond in a Gestapo-like manner,” he said.

According to the Makati City government, Palar Village is part of Makati’s Barangay Southside, which is one of two barangays in Fort Bonifacio’s “Inner Fort” area.

Last week, the Court of Appeals returned jurisdiction over the Inner Fort and several other barangays to Makati after a legal battle that stretched for 20 years.