FROM THE SIDELINES OF THE MAKATI-TAGUIG WAR: It was the best of times, it was the worst of times

(Editor’s note: The unprecedented legal battle between the cities of Taguig and Makati over the “EMBO” area adjacent to the Bonifacio Global City has spilled over into a seeming game of one-upmanship between two mayors over the “takeover” by Taguig of schools that had always been owned and fully funded by Makati’s taxpayers. We asked a fresh graduate of one of the schools, the Makati Science High School, from the batch “who got out just in time,” to share her thoughts on the tug-of-war.)

By Ana Zoe V. Davad

However, the Makati-Taguig tensions are far from news hot off the presses. It’s been an ongoing controversy for three decades, starting in the ’90s when Taguig filed a case against Makati in the Pasig Regional Trial Court (RTC) disputing their jurisdiction over the Enlisted Men’s Barrios (EMBOs). After a long and painful lawsuit, the Pasig RTC ruled in favor of Taguig in 2011.

Makati wouldn’t give up that easily, and filed a motion for reconsideration shortly afterwards. They also filed an appeal with the Court of Appeals (CA), leading Taguig to also file a motion with the CA to accuse Makati of forum shopping. Forum shopping is an act of legal malpractice wherein the accused party takes essentially the same complaint to different courts to maximize the chances of a favorable ruling. The CA ruled in favor of Makati; later in the year, Taguig once again filed another complaint, and the back-and-forth continued. Th is dispute has simmered in the background for all of my years studying at Makati Science High School (now with a new, half- humorous moniker of MakSci Taguig Branch). Indeed, many of those who I know live in said barangays come from military families. Bonifacio Global City (BGC), another parcel of land involved in the dispute, was a neighbor that also became a frequent target of such jokes.

To make a long, painful story short: In the latest development, the Supreme Court ruled in Taguig’s favor during a territorial dispute over seven barangays in the EMBO area (namely Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, Comembo, Pembo and Pitogo). Also involved are 14 schools in the aforementioned area; these schools make up about twothirds of Makati’s schools and the vast majority of the student population besides.

In the collective consciousness of youth, the real concern isn’t necessarily the winner of the turf war, but what will happen to students while politicians play tug-of-war. The vast majority of students rely on the benefits provided by the Makati LGU, such as food packs, uniforms, socks, and even stationery. While Taguigeños do have similar benefits, the transition period is proving to be rough. For this school year’s Brigada Eskwela, parents and students alike were anxious about the kind of changes that new management would bring. Makati and Taguig’s respective LGUs seem to want to focus more on trading jabs in public than assuaging these concerns, though.

Most recently, Makati Mayor Abigail Binay raised the issue of ownership. While Taguig now has jurisdiction over the 10 affected barangays and the 14 schools located there, Makati is still asserting ownership over the buildings themselves. The Makati LGU said it offered to continue providing the same benefits that it did to those who would be displaced, but was rejected by Taguig.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Binay said the school supplies for over 40,000 students were ready for distribution since school opening is just around the corner, but that Taguig City Hall rejected this.

In return, Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano claimed that Makati ignored their request for data necessary for planning benefits for schools in the EMBO area. We can anticipate that this kind of dialogue will continue for a good while.

A s much as social media might have you believe otherwise, though, comparing the quality of these benefits isn’t what’s on the forefront of every student’s mind, nor is “taking sides” between Makati and Taguig. It’s the almost laughably anticlimactic confirmation that these politicians see the magnitude of these benefits as a competition to be won, and not a public service to be done for their constituents. As if the side with the better benefits will win more points in this twisted game.

W hile pictures of “I Love Tagu- ig” and “This Property Belongs to Makati” tarpaulins duking it out for space on school gates spread like wildfire on Facebook, there isn’t really anything one can do except laugh at the absurdity of it all.

Being an alumna of Makati Science High School, it feels sobering seeing so many changes in my alma mater. I find it hard to muster interest in juvenile political squabbles, but I also can’t look away knowing that the livelihoods of so many people depend on the outcome. The atmosphere among my batch is similar to tentative relief; we got out just in time, but what about everyone else who can still be caught in the crossfire?

Our underclassmen seem to be taking it in stride with all the memes circulating old GCs; perhaps being in the eye of the hurricane truly is calmer than watching it from afar. Editing the “Makati Science Hymn” and the “Makati March” is obviously no one’s main concern, but it has inspired a chuckle or two.

Wallowing in misery is hardly the most productive thing to do. Nietzsche may have famously said “Hope is the worst of all evils, as it prolongs the torment of man,” but pessimism doesn’t spark joy either. To continue living in these times, you have to find something you believe in more than the odds of failure.

DAVAO’S RISING BEACH ‘PARADISE’

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He said actual construction “came up better than what we expected.” And the Discovery Group, which manages the hotels, lent the quality signature.

“Part of the system [is], we wanted to establish that signature. When we go to the subdivision this is our level of aspiration for the quality standard,” he added. He said clients “go here, they see it, and modestly, they like it, it’s very visual.”

Price was never an issue in acquiring the property, Pile said, insisting on the vision of the owners “to instill even among clients to cocreate the value in the property.” We will not brag [about] it being five-star quality. It is here. This is our standard. We created this value, and we will enhance it. So the idea now is to bring it to the next level,” he said.

The biggest property development on the island was supposed to be that of the Malaysia-owned Ekran Berhad, also a high-end hotel and accommodation development company in Kuala Lumpur. It did not take off, however, after it was hit in succession by the Asian financial meltdown in 1996 and the world financial crisis in 2008.

Online lifestyle

THE idea of a vacation home came up as an inspiration from an Indonesia shoreline property development several decades ago, “when Indonesia was about 10 years ahead of property development than the Philippines.”

A similar prototype was in Nasugbu, Batangas, with an 88-hectare property, like a peninsula jutting out to sea. While the vacation place was constructed in 1997, the idea of a vacation home made this Nasugbu resort an instant hit among Metro Manila residents during the Covid-19 pandemic, when people wanted to stay away from the epicenter of the contagion.

“ Besides, people came to adjust to the online lifestyle, and the idea of a second home away from the metropolis attracted residents,” he said.

Despite the online lifestyle, Zoom is still Zoom and the distance still makes residents feel extracted from their original urban home,” he added. It would be different for the Samal Shores Residenza. “It’s prox- imate to Davao City, that it’s like still being home after a few minutes of travel from the city,” Pile pointed out.

“About five minutes or so from Davao City, you are already here in the property. And for Davao City residents, life is highly urban already. And they are going off center, away from the urban center, it’s like Manila already,” he added.

A nd when one thinks of a place away from the city, one would often think about a shoreline property, “a vacation home; the setting is a garden city much like what Samal is named,” Pile said.

This is a shoreline property, and whatever happens it is still a beach. And there is scarcity and that makes it expensive,” Pile said. Compare it with the posh subdivisions in the city. “They are in the middle of traffic and the middle of everything.”

But here in Samal, “you got a beach development here, a fivestar hotel, a shoreline to go with it and the breeze of the sea. Add to that the views of Mount Apo.”

Pile foresees their foray into Samal to eventually become a benchmark for the future of property development in the country.