MANILA, (PNA) — As the territorial dispute between the cities of Makati and Taguig has worsened, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano on Sunday extended the hands of peace to Makati Mayor Junjun Binay to renew the friendship strained by the Court of Appeals (CA) ruling on the territorial dispute.
“We ask Mayor Binay to renew our friendship and the camaraderie between our cities that have been strained by the territorial dispute over Fort Bonifacio,” Cayetano said.
The local chief executive urged Mayor Binay to set aside the differences that this issue has brought them, saying the people of Taguig and Makati are essentially “brothers and sisters.”
“I hope there can be peace and friendship between us again,” the lady mayor said even as she appealed to the Makati mayor to wait for a final court ruling on the matter avoid resorting to violence in affirming its claims.
She noted the local government of Taguig has already filed a motion for reconsideration (MR) before the CA, which she pointed out suspends the execution of the decision of the appellate court.
“All of these support our actions to maintain the status quo in Fort Bonifacio. For now, let us promote peace and order in our respective cities and among our people. Let us avoid actions that will result in possible clashes and danger to our respective police forces and our peace and order personnel,”she maintained.
Cayetano, at the same time, expressed gratitude that the Department of Interior and Local Governments (DILG) has cleared the jurisdictional issues in Fort Bonifacio by stating that the status quo remains in the disputed area.
DILG Secretary Mar Roxas said the leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) is now trying to sort out between the regional and district level the rules on how cops would handle the volatile situation.
Roxas maintained that police officers should simply act as the keepers of peace and order and not add fire to the already tense boundary stand-off.
The DILG secretary added that they may step up security in the disputed areas of Fort Bonifacio but this will depend on the recommendation of the NCRPO, SPD and the PNP directorate.