St. Peter was having a boundary dispute with Satan over the overlapping by Hell on the territories of heaven.
An exasperated St. Peter announced he will sue Satan in court to which the demon nonchalantly retorted, “Where will you get your lawyers and judges, they are all down here!”
God forbid, the boundary dispute between Baguio and Tuba will not end the way of the land dispute between Makati and Taguig.
The dispute covers Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation where the Bonifacio Global City Complex is and the areas comprising the Enlisted Men’s Barangays or the so-called 10 EMBO barangays namely Pembo, Comembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, Pitogo, Rizal Post Proper Northside, and Post Proper Northside within 3.05 square kilometers (Parcels 3 and 4 PSU-2031.)
The Supreme Court Third Division ruled that the disputed properties are within the territorial jurisdiction of Taguig City (G.R. No. 235316).
The SC also denied Makati City’s omnibus motion to refer the instant case to the court en banc, as the en banc is not an Appellate Court to which decisions or resolutions of a division may be appealed. Question is, was the final decision immediately executory?
Court Administrator Raul Villanueva said a writ of execution before the court of origin is required for implementation by the Department of the Interior and Local Government. Taguig says no need because the Pasig Regional Trial Court already issued a permanent injunction order against Makati.
Department of Education-Taguig-Pateros “forcibly attempted” to take over 14 public schools with 30,000 students days ago but Makati “violently” reacted that it owns the building and the lots of all the schools and the DepEd-Taguig-Pateros “forcibly attempted” to enforce the decision.
On the issue of ownership rights of public schools, which were paid for and are owned by Makati, I agree that local government units can own property in areas outside their jurisdiction. Acting as referee, Vice President and DepEdSec. Sara Duterte created a transition committee for both cities and on Aug. 29, DepEd took over the schools.
Binay says she will fight tooth and nail for the more than 300,000 residents-families who will lose their school children’s benefits, free medical hospitalizations, and senior citizens benefits which Taguig cannot fund immediately.
Aside from the schools, covered are University of Makati (UMAK), UMAK Football Field, Ospital ng Makati, Makati City Jail, Makati Science High School, Makati Aqua Sports Arena, and Makati Park and Garden. Taguig LGU must buy all the land and buildings or to rent from Makati and pay for personnel and modern equipment.
Joining the fray, the Commission on Elections declared that 10 barangays formerly under Makati will now be part of Taguig for the 2023 barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections.
The Comelec started the process for the administrative transfer of records of the affected voters in the enlisted men’s barrio (EMBO) barangays. The action heightened the already tense political situation because the EMBOs comprise the second congressional district of Makati whose representative is the mayor’s husband. If these barangays are pulled out, then Makati’s Second District will only have Guadalupe Nuevo and Pinagkaisahan with only 38,000 residents not qualified as a congressional district.
The fight is not over as there are still numerous legal and ground issues to resolve. Complicating the issue is SC First Division granted the municipality of Pateros a chance to prove its ownership of Bonifacio Global city and the 10 EMBOs citing historical maps during the Spanish colonial era ordering the Pasig RTCBranch271 to proceed with dispatch and settle the three-decade land dispute among Pateros, Taguig, and Makati.
At the end of the day, 300,000 Filipinos have become victims; winners or losers of the fireworks between the feuding cities and their mayoras. Mayor Abby has a solution in sight. She will run for mayor of Taguig in 2025. Oha!
Sigh.
May 4, 2024
