TAGUIG Mayor Lani Cayetano at the CA on Wednesday: “If you remove Fort Bonifacio from Makati, the impact would not be that much. But remove it from Taguig and my constituents would tear up because this is where we get our funds for education, health and the infrastructure needs of our city.” RICHARD A. REYES
Taguig City Mayor Ma. Laarni Cayetano on Wednesday asked a Court of Appeals (CA) justice to inhibit herself from the 20-year-old case in connection with the Fort Bonifacio territorial dispute, which the CA recently ruled in favor of Makati City.
The Taguig mayor, who in the CA ruling lost the revenue-rich area that included the upscale Bonifacio Global City (BGC), wanted the magistrate who penned the ruling, Justice Marlene Gonzales-Sison, out of the case before Taguig files a motion for reconsideration.
Cayetano said the magistrate’s husband, Manila Councilor Casimiro Sison, is a known member of the main political opposition which took part in the May elections as the United Nationalist Alliance (UNA) and whose party bosses include former Makati Mayor and now Vice President Jejomar Binay.
Cayetano along with her brother-in-law, Taguig Rep. Lino Cayetano, and several local officials went to the CA to file an urgent motion for Sison’s inhibition, saying it was the first step her government was taking following the July 30 ruling.
‘Serious doubt’
“Attorney Cassy Sison’s membership in UNA and close association with Vice President Binay cast serious doubt on the impartiality of Honorable Gonzales-Sison, his wife and ponente in the captioned case,” she said in her motion.
She noted that UNA was headed by the so-called “three kings,” referring to Binay, former President and now Manila Mayor Joseph Estrada and Sen. Juan Ponce Enrile.
Binay’s son Jejomar Erwin is the incumbent Makati mayor.
Cayetano noted that key personalities of UNA, particularly Binay and Enrile, had been vocal about their support for Fort Bonifacio being part of Makati.
“There is a suspicion that the decision dated July 30 is a ‘political decision’ meant to curry favor with Vice President Binay for future appointment to the Supreme Court,” she said.
She recalled that Binay had already announced he was seeking the presidency and “it would not be far-fetched to think that Atty. Cassy Sison would want to strengthen his relationship with the Vice President.”
“(Justice Sison’s) relationship with Atty. Cassy Sison and his ties to UNA do not help remove the suspicion,” Cayetano said.
‘Muddling the issue’
Makati City officials were quick to dismiss Cayetano’s move as “Taguig’s attempt to politicize the issue.”
“We are at a loss as to the reason for the motion, since one can only ask for inhibition before a decision is rendered and not after,” said information office chief Joey Salgado.
“To inject politics into a boundary dispute is clearly meant to muddle the issue and divert attention from Taguig’s failure to show concrete evidence. It is unfortunate that the names of Vice President Jojo Binay, former President Estrada and former Senate President Enrile have been dragged into this issue,” Salgado said. With a report from Niña P. Calleja