A Makati City official said on Monday that the Makati Park and Garden does not need a permit to operate.
According to the city’s legal officer Don Camiña, facilities owned by national government agencies and local governments were exempt from paying business and other taxes.
He said that the property was awarded by the national government to Makati City by virtue of Presidential Proclamation No. 1916 signed by then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on Oct. 14, 2009.
Camiña issued the clarification a day after the Taguig local government ordered the park’s closure for allegedly operating without the necessary permit—an offshoot of the Supreme Court’s decision to award jurisdiction over 10 “Embo” barangays formerly under Makati, to the city.
Camiña also reiterated the city’s position that the high court’s decision involved a boundary dispute. “The Supreme Court decision only granted Taguig territorial jurisdiction over the 10 Embo barangays. It did not transfer to Taguig ownership of properties owned by the City of Makati,” he said.
Amid a stand-off between the two local governments over ownership of the park, the Philippine National Police said that its personnel who were deployed there would maintain their presence.
PNP acting public affairs chief Col. Jean Fajardo said on Monday that they would remain neutral but stay prepared to enforce the law should the need arise.
READ: Taguig closes Makati Park and Garden for allegedly lacking mayor’s permit
“The traffic management office and public safety division personnel of Makati and Taguig are maintaining their presence within the area. We are also maintaining our presence in the area to maintain peace and order and ensure the safety of our citizens,” she said in a press briefing.
“As to the ownership and management, we leave it to the concerned [local governments] to discuss and resolve this in the proper forum. The PNP is not in the position to resolve whether that area can be opened in the absence of a permit; we leave it to the concerned [local governments],” she said. INQ