Makati to Taguig: Remove politics in border dispute

MANILA, Philippines - The Makati City government on Thursday  asked the Taguig City government to  refrain from politicizing the recent decision of the Court of Appeals that awarded control and jurisdiction of the contested Fort Bonifacio area from Taguig to Makati.

Makati issued the statement in the wake of the filing on Wednesday of a motion seeking the inhibition of CA Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison, who penned the decision.

Taguig sought the inhibition of Sison from the case, citing the alleged “close association” of her husband, Manila Councilor Casimiro Sison, to Vice President Binay, who served as former Makati mayor and is one of the leaders of the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA).

In filing the motion to inhibit, the Taguig City government said it questions Sison’s impartiality in resolving the territorial dispute.

For his part, Makati spokesperson Joey Salgado said a motion to inhibit should be filed before a decision is made and not after. He added that lawyers of the Makati city government would be answering every point made by Taguig City in its petition to inhibit.

“We have yet to receive a copy of Taguig's motion. Once we receive it, Makati's lawyers will answer the legal issues raised point by point,” he said.

Salgado also said that Makati is hopeful that the situation will not be made an extension of the “Enrile-Cayetano tiff in the Senate” as he noted that even the name of Senator Juan Ponce Enrile’s chief of staff was mentioned in Taguig’s petition to inhibit.

Salgado reminded the Taguig City government that the CA had decided on the case based on the evidence presented by Makati.

“To inject politics into a boundary dispute is clearly meant to muddle the issue and divert attention from Taguig’s failure to show concrete evidence.  It is unfortunate that the names of Vice President Jojo Binay, former President Joseph Estrada and former Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile have been dragged into this issue,” Salgado said.

Earlier, the city government of Makati released a statement that the lifting of the preliminary injunction issued by the lower court in 1994 was “immediately executory”, and recognized Makati’s right to resume its exercise of jurisdiction over the disputed area.

In its July 30, 2013 decision, the CA’s Sixth Division ordered Taguig “to immediately cease and desist from exercising jurisdiction within the disputed area and return the same to Makati,” after concluding that Taguig failed to present evidence to support its claim.

Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano however said that the CA decision is not yet final and executor and that Taguig City continues to exercise jurisdiction over the contested Fort Bonifacio area, including the Bonifacio Global City (BGC). - Mike Frialde