Personnel from the Taguig City local government unit (LGU) officially took over on Wednesday, May 7, the various government facilities like, the health center in Barangay Rizal, Taguig City. It is one of the largest barangays in the Enlisted Men’s Barrios (EMBO) area, which was transferred from the jurisdiction of Makati City following a Supreme Court ruling.
This move follows a 72-hour temporary restraining order (TRO) issued by the Taguig Regional Trial Court (RTC), barring the Makati City government from preventing Taguig from utilizing government facilities in the affected areas.
DZRH News witnessed Taguig personnel moving several furniture and reopening the Primary Health Center in Barangay Rizal shortly after the court order was served.
According to Dr. Susana Amiscua, Chief Health Program Officer of Taguig, who personally led the team to reopen the facility, the health center had been unused for almost two years.
While the Rizal Health Center was locked by the Makati LGU, residents seeking medical checkups were temporarily accommodated at Barangay Ususan.
However, Taguig personnel said the turnover did not happen smoothly.
“Kanina pa lang nagsilbi ng court order. May pumigil kahapon from Makati government dahil ayaw nilang tanggapin ang court order. Binabalik nang binalik yung court order, inihagis pa nga sa kotse," a Taguig LGU employee told DZRH.
Makati prepares legal action
In response, Makati Mayor and senatorial candidate Abby Binay denied accusations that her administration blocked Taguig’s implementation of the court order.
“Hindi naman namin pinigilan, sumunod kami sa court order,” Binay stressed.
“Yung 72 hours na sa TRO na nakuha nila hanggang Friday lang po iyon, hindi po sinabi ng korte na kanila na iyon kumbaga ang layo masyado ng interpretation ng iba at pati ang actions sila na parang ang asta nila sila na may-ari,” she added.
Binay questioned whether the Taguig LGU would withdraw if the TRO expires or is lifted.
Meanwhile, Binay announced that her administration is preparing to file legal cases in response to the RTC of Taguig issuing a TRO affecting Makati’s continued operations and management of facilities in the EMBO barangays.
“Marami po kaming ipafile na kaso, hindi lang ho yung sasagot kami sa kanilang summons, sa court kasi nakalimutan yat ang judge na may pending na kaso na ito,” Binay added.
The Makati mayor expressed further dismay, claiming that Taguig only filed the case a week before the election and was “obviously politically motivated.”
“Kung gusto talaga nilang tulungan yung mga tao sa EMBO dapat last year pa sila nagfile ng kaso, why the delayed. 1 year and 5 months bago nila maisipan magfile ng kaso,” the Makati Mayor pointed out.
According to Binay, the property in question is worth over ₱1 billion, far exceeding the ₱20 million figure mentioned in documents posted by Taguig.
“Hindi [ito] yung maliit na bagay kinukuha nila sa taxpayers ng Makati, hindi biro ang ginawa ng court almost 1.8 billion [ang kinuha nila]”,” she said.
Binay also reiterated that the Supreme Court’s final decision, which became effective in September 2022, merely settled jurisdictional issues over the ten EMBO barangays, but did not transfer ownership of facilities and properties to Taguig.
