Taguig not yielding Ft. Boni as Makati plans takeover

SHIFTING SKYLINE Residents and companies based in the upscale Bonifacio Global City are up for major changes, starting with their calling cards to reflect a new city address, after a Court of Appeals ruling resolved a 20-year territorial dispute to hand it back to Makati City from Taguig. INQSnap this page to see the CA ruling. RAFFY LERMA

Makati City is wasting no time making everyone know it is set to establish control in the next few days. But Taguig City is calling such move “irresponsible” and is not giving way that easily.

Change may not come that smoothly at Fort Bonifacio, especially in the upscale Bonifacio Global City (BGC), despite the recent Court of Appeals ruling that gave the revenue-rich area back to Makati’s jurisdiction after a 20-year boundary dispute with Taguig.

A day after Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay welcomed the ruling by unveiling plans to take over the area “in two weeks,” Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano said such statements were “unfortunate and irresponsible.”

“How could you issue statements that are still so far off? Until now, the status quo is still in effect,” Cayetano said in a press conference she called at the BGC, where she was joined by several other Taguig officials. “We still have legal remedies. We will fight for this.”

“If they [try to] take control, we will assert our jurisdiction,” she said. “We just want the business community to know that the status quo is still in effect. Stay calm. Transactions will still be with Taguig.”

But Binay on Wednesday pressed on, saying that to ease the transition for affected businessmen, his city government would suspend the collection of business taxes in BGC in the third and fourth quarter of the year.

Binay also pointed out that the CA had already ordered Taguig “to immediately cease and desist from exercising jurisdiction within the disputed area and return the same to Makati.”

“We understand the situation of the business community in BGC. We do not intend to collect taxes from them for the rest of the year. We can do that in January next year when they apply for business permits,” the Makati mayor said in a statement.

Along with the tax moratorium, the mayor said he would also prioritize the delivery of basic services to residents of the disputed barangays that, according to him, had been neglected for the past two decades.

“We must not forget the plight of residents of Barangays Post Proper Northside and Southside that have lagged behind in the delivery of basic services and infrastructure development, in stark contrast with the rapidly expanding skyline of the BGC,” Binay said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Binay said the takeover would be felt by the residents in two weeks, and that he had talked about it in meetings with the Makati assessor, engineer, administrator, and some businessmen operating in the two cities.

Joey Salgado, Makati City’s public information chief, said Makati policemen and civilian law enforcers known as Mapsa would also be deployed in BGC “in a few days.”

But in the press conference, former Fort Bonifacio chair and now Taguig’s 2nd

District Rep. Lino Cayetano, the mayor’s brother-in-law, directed a question at Binay: “What’s the rush?”

“It took years before we reached this decision. In those years, the claim of Taguig has been reaffirmed again and again. In 2011, the regional trial court said the barangays were part of Taguig. [We] made no move to assert jurisdiction over these areas out of respect and because the communities would be disrupted,” the congressman said.

‘Embo’ villages

The disputed areas cover the so-called “embo” villages—Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, Comembo and Pembo—whose names were derived from acronyms of military units based in Fort Bonifacio when much of it was still an Army camp. They also include Pitogo and the Inner Fort barangays Post Proper Northside and Southside, which covers the BGC.

Mayor Cayetano said she was particularly “hurt” by Binay’s pronouncements on Tuesday that losing Fort Bonifacio may affect Taguig’s status as a city “because they will have reduced revenues and land area,” which are factors considered for attaining that status.

“They belittle us too much. I am saddened by these statements. What kind of satisfaction will they get?” Cayetano said.

“Over the years, businesses and citizens have been flocking to Taguig. They transfer here because they see that living and doing business here is better than in other areas. You could ask our businesses: Taguig has the lowest tax rate. We public servants worked hard on this,” she stressed.

‘You know the process’

“I appeal to Mayor Binay to be responsible and fair in his statements. You and all lawyers know the legal process would take time. Taguig can still file a motion for reconsideration. And if need be, we can push this up to the Supreme Court. So why confuse the businessmen and residents of Fort Bonifacio?” Cayetano asked.

The CA ruling dated July 30 and released on Monday lifted a preliminary injunction issued by the Pasig City court in July 1994 that had prevented Makati from exercising jurisdiction over the disputed villages.

In a ruling penned by Associate Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison, the appellate court dismissed Taguig’s 1993 complaint for lack of merit and affirmed that the areas were within the territorial jurisdiction of Makati.

It declared as constitutional and valid Presidential Proclamation Nos. 2475 and 518, issued during the Marcos and Cory Aquino administration, respectively, which reinforced Makati’s claim over Fort Bonifacio.