Makati ready to defend territory before SC

MANILA, Philippines — The Makati City government is ready to defend its territorial jurisdiction before the Supreme Court (SC) en banc and hold oral arguments over its land row with Taguig.

Mayor Abby Binay yesterday said the city’s legal team has received notice from the SC for a setting of hearing on the city’s urgent motion to elevate the case before all the magistrates.

“We received a document setting our omnibus motion for a hearing. That means it is not yet final. Part of our motion is to go before the en banc and have oral arguments,” Binay told The STAR on the sidelines of the CityNet Disaster Cluster seminar held at the Dusit Thani hotel.

Even though the SC “wrote finis” to the issue and sided with Taguig’s historical claim over the “embos” or “enlisted men’s barrios” barangays in the second district of Makati, Binay said the fight is not yet over.

The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) has not instructed Makati to turn over the embo barangays to Taguig, Binay said.

The mayor admits she shed tears after the high court in April confirmed the entry of judgment of its special third division’s December 2021 decision that denied Makati’s appeal on Taguig’s win through a petition for review.

In a statement, the SC said it had written “finis” to the tug-of-war over the embo barangays as well as the military reservation Fort Bonifacio, where the 240-hectare lifestyle hub and financial center Bonifacio Global City is located.

Binay said 200,000 residents in the embo barangays stand to lose their perks in Makati if their residential area is transferred to Taguig.

“This case has been ongoing since the ’90s. We don’t know when this will end. At the end of the day, my thoughts are with my constituents affected. I have shed tears about this,” Binay said.

“As far as I know, Taguig has written DILG to enforce the decision. But as far as Makati is concerned, it is status quo,” she added.