‘I can imagine many folks down below wondering what happens next — and what it will mean in terms of the benefits they have long been receiving from the Binays of Makati.’
THE other day, I overheard Taguig Mayor Ma. Laarni Cayetano explaining to Ka Tunying the implications of a Supreme Court decision that awards, with finality, a handful of Makati barangays to her city.
The transfer follows from the decision that rules that the 700-plus hectare Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation belongs to Taguig City and with it the barangays of Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, and Pitogo. (A friend who has lived in one of those barangays all his life tells me that the “embo” in the names of the barangays used to stand for “enlisted men’s barrio,” at the time when they well all part of the Philippine Army reservation).
The SC decision, in turn, was provoked by the dispute between Makati and Taguig after then President Fidel V. Ramos signed a presidential decree granting Taguig control and jurisdiction over the privatized portion of the Fort Bonifacio Army reservation, what is now known as BGC or Bonifacio Global City. In times past, parts of the area of BGC were known as “Northside” to Makati residents, but all these changed, thanks to FVR.
That the dispute has dragged this far and this long speaks poorly of our ability to settle matters like these as quickly and as resolutely as possible. And with barangay elections looming on the horizon, it is imperative that the final and executory decision of the Supreme Court be converted into concrete changes on the ground.
Then again, this is not the only SC decision that is already final but remains inoperative or unexecuted, yes?
In fact, as I write this, I am looking out the window of my 7th-floor room in St. Luke’s BGC, and onto I think one of the barangays that the SC says is part of Taguig. I can imagine many folks down below wondering what happens next — and what it will mean in terms of the benefits they have long been receiving from the Binays of Makati.
Mayor Lani, on the radio, assured the residents of the barangays involved that Taguig is not far behind Makati in the benefits it offers to its residents, from Health care coverage to educational scholarships that a Taguigeno can use wherever he decides to enroll.
But yes, it’s time that the Supreme Court decision be brought to bear in the October Barangay elections for the covered barangays. It’s downright stupid to still have the elections for the seven barangays conducted as part of the City of Makati; that’s not what a final SC verdict means. As Barangay South Cembo Kagawad Ferdinand “Bong” Sacro told me, “We just want to serve our constituents to the best of our abilities. If we are to serve under Mayor Lani in keeping with the Supreme Court decision, so be it. But for the sake of the people we serve, I hope this is addressed immediately and once and for all. Mahirap mag-plano when we are in limbo.”
