Taguig takeover of Makati areas renders subway ‘no longer feasible’ - project developer

Metro Manila, Philippines - The transfer of some areas from Makati to Taguig’s jurisdiction has rendered the proposed alignment of a multibillion-peso subway project “no longer feasible,” the listed project developer said in a disclosure on Friday, May 2.

Philippine Infradev Holdings Inc., the developer of the underground intra-city subway system, said its board of directors has decided to exit its now unviable joint venture agreement (JVA) with the Makati City government.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, Infradev said the project “was rendered no longer economically and operationally feasible” due primarily to the Supreme Court decision on the jurisdiction case, which needed some subway stations and depots to be under the jurisdiction of Taguig City.

“Arbitration proceedings have thus commenced with the Singapore International Arbitration Centre to enable an impartial resolution of the JVA with Makati City,” the company disclosed.

In 2022, the high court finally ruled in favor of Taguig City and transferred 10 “embo” (enlisted men’s barrios) or barangays in Makati to its jurisdiction, citing historical, documentary and testimonial evidence.

The 10 villages are Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, Pitogo, Rizal, Post Proper Northside, and Post Proper Southside.

The 11-kilometer subway project would have had stations in Ayala Avenue, Paseo de Roxas, Yakal, Circuit Makati, near Makati City Hall, Rockwell, and Guadalupe.

There were also plans to put up a depot in Barangay Cembo, a station in University of Makati in West Rembo, and another in Ospital ng Makati in Pembo.

The estimated ₱200-billion project earlier planned to be fully functional in 2023 was designed to serve about 700,000 commuters daily.

The local governments of Taguig and Makati had a turf war for decades over ownership of towns which included jurisdiction over the upscale financial district Bonifacio Global City.

Makati awarded the public-private partnership project to the consortium of Infradev (formerly IRC Properties) in October 2018 and the subway project broke ground in December the same year.

In 2023, Infradev raised concern over the high court ruling favoring Taguig and warned that the subway project could be derailed due to the decision.