Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) — The Court of Appeals (CA) ruled Wednesday in favor of Taguig City in the latest development in a two-decade dispute with Makati City over ownership of a bustling central business district.
Special Former Sixth Division Associate Justice Edwin Sorongon granted Taguig’s motion to dismiss Makati’s appeal of a July 2011 decision by the Pasig City Regional Trial Court (RTC), which ruled that Bonifacio Global City (BGC) was within the territory of Taguig.
Sorongon said he based his ruling on a June 2016 decision of the Supreme Court, which found Makati guilty of “willful and deliberate forum shopping” or pursuing remedies in multiple courts.
25-year-long dispute
The case between Taguig and Makati over BGC started in 1993, when Taguig filed a case against Makati before the Pasig RTC contending “that the areas comprising the Enlisted Men’s Barangays, or EMBOs, as well as the area referred to as Inner Fort in Fort Bonifacio, were within its territory and jurisdiction.”
Shortly after the RTC ruled in favor of Taguig in July 2011, Makati filed a motion for reconsideration at the Pasig court. At the same time, the city filed a petition for annulment of judgment with the CA.
The RTC denied Makati’s motion, which caused Makati to file an appeal with the CA in January 2012, where it already had a pending petition for annulment of judgment.
Taguig then filed a motion with the CA on January 2013 to dismiss Makati’s appeal, arguing that Makati was engaged in forum shopping.
In July 2013, the CA ruled in favor of Makati, saying the city did not commit forum shopping and that it was the rightful owner of BGC.
In September 2013, Taguig filed an appeal at the CA. In addition, Taguig filed a petition with the Supreme Court, arguing that Makati should be penalized for abusing the legal process.
The Supreme Court ruled in favor of Taguig in June 2016, finding Makati’s three lawyers guilty of contempt and imposing a ₱2,000 fine on each of them.
In a statement Thursday, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano said the CA decision was a victory for Taguigeños. She also reached out to Makati, saying the two cities should work together.
“We have common challenges with massive urbanization,” she said. “People need our services in planning, infrastructure, health and education programs, as well as anti-crime and anti-drug campaigns. We can only solve these problems if we work together.”
Makati asserts ownership
Meanwhile, Makati City Legal Officer Michael Arthur Camiña said in a statement Thursday that based on the merits of the case, the city is “the rightful owner of BGC” and that it will continue to “exhaust all legal remedies to protect its territorial jurisdiction.”
“The Court of Appeals did not rule that Taguig is the rightful owner of BGC. That point needs to be emphasized,” he said.
“The case was dismissed on a technical ground of forum shopping committed by the previous lawyers of Makati,” he added. “But the order of dismissal by the CA is in conflict with the Decision of the Supreme Court that merely ordered the previous lawyers of Makati to pay a fine and not to dismiss the case.”
