'Makati may takeover BGC pending CA final ruling'

MANILA, Philippines - Makati City may exercise jurisdiction over the contested Fort Bonifacio area, including the Bonifacio Global City (BGC), even though the recent decision by the Court of Appeals (CA) is not yet final and executory.

Kenneth Dasal, Makati Law Department head, said the lifting of the preliminary injunction issued by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court is "immediately executory’ even though the decision itself was not yet final and executory.

“We agree that the CA decision is not yet final and executory and thus, Taguig may still file an appeal. However, the lifting of the injunction last July 30, 2013 is in itself a recognition on the part of the CA that Makati may now continue exercising jurisdiction over the disputed area,” Dasal said.

Dasal said Makati will merely be resuming its exercise of jurisdiction over the disputed area, including the delivery of basic public services to its constituents, which it had been doing before the issuance of the "baseless injunction."

“Before Taguig filed the case in 1993, Makati had been exercising jurisdiction over the disputed area through its Barangays Southside and Northside. This was interrupted when the injunction was issued against Makati in 1994 and Taguig took over the disputed area, in violation of the principles of injunction,” he said.

Dasal pointed out that the illegal takeover of Taguig over Makati’s barangays has caused the "absurd situation" where barangays supposedly under its jurisdiction have been participating in Makati’s local and national elections since the early 1970s.

“Contrary to what Taguig local officials claim, it was Taguig who took over Makati’s barangays despite the fact that the case was still pending and thus, the status quo should have prevailed,” Dasal said.

“In other words, we are merely continuing what we have been doing before the issuance of the baseless injunction. We cannot implement the decision because it is not yet final and executory but we can already continue exercising acts of jurisdiction because of the lifting of the injunction,” Dasal added.

Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay earlier said the city government will declare a moratorium on tax collections for the third and fourth quarters of the year from business and commercial establishments in the BGC. He has also said that Makati is open to a revenue-sharing arrangement with Taguig under a special administrative body that will govern the BGC.

Binay said the proposal was meant to underscore Makati's desire to help the people of Taguig.

"We want to show that this is not about revenues. We simply wanted to get back what is rightfully and historically ours," Binay said.

Binay also gave assurances that there will be no tax increases amid efforts to unify the tax rates of Makati and Fort Bonifacio, which is currently using Taguig's rate.

Binay pointed out that Makati survived despite not being able to collect taxes from Bonifacio Global City for the past 20 years.

“If we are lower then we’ll retain our rates. If we are higher, we'll bring it down to Taguig’s rates,” he said.

Binay also vowed to “put in place proper governance and ensure the delivery of basic services” to Barangays Post Proper Northside and Post Proper Southside, the two barangays most affected by the long-running territorial dispute between Makati and Taguig.

“We must not forget the plight of residents of Barangays Northside and Southside that have lagged behind in the delivery of basic services and infrastructure development, in stark contrast with the rapidly expanding skyline of the Bonifacio Global City,” Binay said.

On August 5, the Court of Appeals Sixth Division released its ruling dated July 30, 2013 on the long-running territorial dispute between the two cities, upholding Makati’s jurisdiction over the more than 729-hectare portion of Fort Bonifacio.

The CA ordered Taguig “to immediately cease and desist from exercising jurisdiction within the disputed area and return the same to Makati,” after noting that Taguig failed to present evidence to support its claim.

In 1993, Taguig filed a case before the Pasig Regional Trial Court, which issued an injunction in July 1994 preventing Makati from exercising jurisdiction over the contested area.