BGC. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — As songwriter Neil Sedaka did in his signature 1962 hit, the Taguig City government on Saturday told affected Makati City residents that while breaking up is hard to do, they shouldn’t say this is the end and that they should just start anew.
This was the message the Taguig City Hall sent to the residents of at least seven barangays that will soon be transferred from the jurisdiction of Makati City to that of Taguig after the Supreme Court finally put an end to a bitter territorial dispute that spanned decades.
“The separation from Makati may be hurting, and we acknowledge your sentiments. We respect your emotional attachment to Makati, which took care of your welfare for a long time, and we understand your fears that Taguig would be unable to give the social benefits you have been enjoying,” it said in a statement on Saturday.
“We assure you that Taguig is prepared to take on the responsibility of governing your communities with the same commitment and solicitude it has done with its 28 barangays,” the Taguig local government unit added.
In a June 26 resolution made public on Thursday, the high court denied Makati’s motion to file a second appeal on its decision granting jurisdiction to the coveted Bonifacio Global City (BGC) commercial district and seven barangays in favor of Taguig.
The high court “noted without action” Makati’s second motion for reconsideration, saying it was “generally prohibited under the Rules of Court.”
In a Dec. 1, 2021 decision, the Supreme Court’s Third Division declared permanent the injunction issued by the Pasig Regional Trial Court in 1994 stopping the Makati government from exercising jurisdiction over the Inner Fort composed of the seven “Embo” (Enlisted Men’s Barangays) barangays — Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, and Pitogo — as well as the military reservation Fort Bonifacio, where the 240-hectare BGC is located.