Cayetano firm: No writ needed to get jurisdiction
As part of this year’s Brigada Eskwela, Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano visits the Tibagan Elementary School, formerly a part of Makati and now a part of Taguig. (File photo by RICHARD A. REYES / Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano reiterated on Tuesday that there was no need for a writ of execution to facilitate the transfer of jurisdiction over 10 “Embo” barangays from Makati to her city, as ordered by the Supreme Court in 2021.
Cayetano cited recent orders from the Department of Education, the Philippine National Police, and more recently, the Commission on Elections, which recognized the high tribunal’s ruling.
“All of them did not require [a] writ of execution, that’s what I’ve been saying from the very beginning. Maybe [they] should not question our legal position and strategy because it worked from the beginning,” she told reporters during the distribution of school kits at Pitogo High School, one of 14 Makati public schools placed last week under the authority of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte due to growing tension between the two cities.
The Makati City government has insisted that Taguig must first secure a writ of execution, citing Supreme Court administrator Raul Villanueva’s Aug. 14 letter to a Makati judge that the high tribunal’s decision on the Taguig-Makati land row “should be the subject of a writ of execution before the trial court of origin,” or the Pasig Regional Trial Court, which first handled the territorial dispute case in 1993.
“When the said writ has been implemented by the Department of [the] Interior and Local Government (DILG), then that is the reckoning period for the transfer of jurisdiction of cases emanating from the Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation … from Makati City to the City of Taguig,” Villanueva said in his reply to the judge who had inquired about jurisdiction over pending cases in the 10 affected barangays.
But Cayetano, who earlier called the position a delaying tactic on the part of Makati, stood firm on her stand.
“All the things [Makati Mayor Abby Binay] insists on ownership and all, all that will be settled in the proper forum, and just like before, you will see Taguig participate there,” she said.
At Pitogo High School, Cayetano gave free school supplies to more than 3,000 students there.
According to the Taguig Public Information Office, students will receive a school package consisting of a bag, school uniform, socks, black shoes, rubber shoes, and a complete set of basic school supplies.
