EXPLAINER: How did the Taguig-Makati turf war come about?

It was only in July this year that she declared that Makati will respect the Supreme Court decision. She even said she and the Makati government would coordinate with the concerned departments and agencies for a seamless transition. 

But in the same week that she made her declaration, the two officials supposedly met at a meeting at the Department of Education, and according to the Makati local chief executive, it did not go well. Binay claimed that during their talk, Taguig laid ownership claims of facilities in the disputed areas, for which Makati has used government funds. 

“Taguig says they are the owners. We’re no longer talking about territory because they won the territorial dispute, but unfortunately what they interpreted from the court decision is that they also own the government facilities in the area that Makati owns,” Binay said in Filipino during a radio interview on July 19. “The Makati City government invested billions of funds to develop and build infrastructure in that area and what they want to do is to get the facilities without paying.”

She also said the Taguig government has yet to present a writ of execution for the court decision on the territorial dispute, which would resolve the issue of ownership as well as set guidelines on the enforcement of the ruling. 

For her part, Cayetano confirmed in a July 20 radio interview that she had met with Binay supposedly to thresh out plans for the school year opening amid the transition. She said it was Binay who opened the conversation on ownership of the facilities and had threatened to close down schools unless Taguig reimbursed the buildings' cost or paid rent for their use.

The Taguig mayor said there is a proper forum for such discussions and that the city governments should focus on the transition first. "Issues like this can wait. Willing kami iset-aside 'yan, mag-usap na lang tayo nang mahinahon, mga abogado natin mag-usap diyan. First and foremost ang welfare ng students, simulan na natin ang transition." 

'Forcible takeover' 

On Aug. 13, Makati accused Taguig of attempting to "forcibly take over" 14 public schools located in the disputed areas, calling the move an "act of duplicity and bad faith." 

According to Makati city administrator Claro Certeza, several “enforcers” from Taguig’s public safety department attempted to “forcibly take possession” of several public elementary and high school buildings in the embo barangays. He said these enforcers did not possess any writ of execution or any other lawful order and “created unnecessary tension in these areas." With this, Makati said it intends to file criminal and administrative charges against Taguig. 

Taguig, in a statement, dubbed Certeza’s claims as “misleading and patently false” and only aimed to “sow fear and uncertainty among the affected barangay’s residents.” It cited a memorandum order (MO) from DepEd that transfers the management and supervision of the affected schools from the DepEd Division of Makati to the Division of Taguig and Pateros.

It is in this context where Taguig, which is preparing for the opening of classes, offered assistance—including the deployment of security personnel in schools, as requested by DepEd. The city, however, claimed that Makati "illegally barricaded" the public schools and the streets surrounding them. "In at least one instance, a school principal was prevented from entering her own campus," it said. 

Despite this, Taguig said it will continue to exercise its mandate and jurisdiction over the affected barangays in coordination with the local community leaders. 

On Aug. 14, Certeza claimed that Taguig officials allegedly rejected Makati's offer to provide free supplies in the embo schools, where around 30,000 students would have benefited from free uniforms, shoes, school supplies, and other educational needs. According to him, Binay had proposed a "status quo where Makati will continue its services in the affected schools, supposedly to prevent disruption during the resumption of school."

To this, Taguig said Certeza was "lying to the public" and his remarks were "maliciously calculated to portray Taguig as an uncaring city," adding it was Makati that ignored requests for data necessary for the planning for the opening of classes in the 14 schools. 

Writ of execution and ownership issue

In a radio interview on Aug. 15, Binay said Taguig has yet to secure a writ of execution for the SC ruling that favored Taguig in their dispute, since it is "where its responsibilities were outlined" and would help guide the two cities in the implementation of the jurisdiction. 

A writ of execution is a legal order issued by a court that authorizes the enforcement of a judgment or court decision. 

Binay again blasted Taguig for allegedly claiming ownership over Makati's facilities, including the 14 school buildings, saying the SC only tackled territorial jurisdiction and nowhere in the decision stated that the ownership of properties in the disputed area will be transferred to Taguig. The Makati mayor said the 14 schools stood on land procured by Makati using city funds, and not from the budget of the DepEd. Even the school buildings were built using Makati funds, she added.

Binay also said that the DepEd MO that Taguig was citing for its takeover only pertained to the teachers' transfer from the Makati Division to the Taguig-Pateros Division, not the school buildings, as the education department did not own the buildings. Binay added she has sought the help of Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte to resolve the issue. 

In a separate TV interview on the same day, Binay said she will seek clarifications over the ownership issue on embo public schools, saying the Makati government "already has drafts that it will be filing with the courts." According to her, a local government unit can own a property in an area under the jurisdiction of another LGU, as was the case of Manila-owned South Cemetery which is in Makati. 

Citing SC Court Administrator Raul Villanueva, Certeza emphasized that Taguig should secure a writ of execution to effect the transfer of jurisdiction of the 10 barangays.

Cayetano, meanwhile, said in an Aug. 15 media interview that the writ of execution is not needed for the transfer of the 14 schools, again citing the DepEd MO on the transfer of jurisdiction. She added that Taguig has been coordinating with national agencies regarding the transfer of jurisdiction.

For her part, Binay said Taguig could be refusing to secure a writ of execution because they know they are not capable of shouldering the finances of the 10 barangays. "The only logical reason for not getting a writ is because they don't really want it to be executed because they don't have the money, they don't have the resources," she said. "They know for a fact that these embos will not be able to provide them the revenues necessary to subsidize the cost of sustaining the benefits that the residents get in these areas."

Binay highlighted that Makati spends P400 million for only six months for the expenses of running the 14 schools alone, and it does not yet include the free school supplies for the students, the financial incentives, and the feeding programs. "It will really cost them billions. Only 6% of our total revenue is used for them yet 60% of our budget is used for them. Taguig will need a budget of P7 billion to P9 billion to sustain that," she stressed.

Benefits

Binay has previously raised concerns about whether Taguig will be able to continue providing the same benefits that Makati has provided to 300,000 residents that are now under Taguig. 

She said senior high school students who were supposed to avail of scholarships in Makati can no longer do so in Taguig since they cannot meet the basic requirement of a three-year residency in the city, among others, based on its guidelines. She also expressed worry for senior citizens who are depending on the LGU's distribution of annual cash allowances and other benefits. In line with these, the mayor assures the locals in 10 barangays that Makati is prepared to help them and encourages affected residents to trust her. 

Cayetano took issue with Binay's statements, saying that instead of questioning and criticizing the capability of Taguig, Makati should show its support in the transition. "Sana hinay hinay sa pag-question at pagmamaliit sa kakayahan ng ibang lokal na pamahalaan. Tayo ay mag-encourage sa isa't isa, 'wag tayong magbibitaw ng salita na makakasakit at magko-cause ng panic sa ating kapwa," she said in a radio interview.

According to the SC ruling, the Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation, and barangays Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, and Pitogo, are under the territorial jurisdiction of Taguig. This also means that the Philippine Army headquarters, Navy Installation, Marines headquarters, consular areas, Heritage Park, Libingan ng mga Bayani, AFP Officers’ Village, and six other villages, among other parts of the city, are no longer under Makati. 

The 14 public schools affected by the dispute are Makati Science High School, Comembo Elementary School, Rizal Elementary School, Pembo Elementary School, Benigno “Ninoy” S. Aquino High School, Tibagan High School, Fort Bonifacio Elementary School, Pitogo Elementary School, Pitogo High School, Cembo Elementary School, East Rembo Elementary School, West Rembo Elementary School, and South Cembo Elementary School.

The second district of Makati covers 13 barangays, which includes Cembo, Comembo, East Rembo, Guadalupe Nuevo, Guadalupe Viejo, Pembo, Pinagkaisahan, Pitogo, Post Proper Northside, Post Proper Southside, Rizal, South Cembo, and West Rembo. With the ruling, 10 of these barangays have now been transferred to Taguig, namely Cembo, Comembo, East Rembo, Pembo, Pitogo, Post Proper Northside, Post Proper Southside, Rizal, South Cembo, and West Rembo.