While the Supreme Court (SC) has already ruled with finality in favor of Taguig in the BGC land dispute, Mayor Abigail "Abby" Binay continues to maintain the position that the fight isn't over, and that the legal battle will continue.
The mayor even rallied her fellow Makatizens to assert their claims to the contested land.
Understandably so, considering that the ruling has unprecedented political implications for her and the city of Makati.
According to the SC, the Fort Bonifacio Military Reservation, and barangays Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, and Pitogo, are under the territorial jurisdiction of Taguig.
This also means that the Philippine Army headquarters, Navy Installation, Marines headquarters, consular areas, Heritage Park, Libingan ng mga Bayani, AFP Officers' Village, and six other villages, among other parts of the city, have left Makati.
"The separation from Makati may be hurting, and we acknowledge your sentiments. We respect your emotional attachment to Makati, which took care of your welfare for a long time, and we understand your fears that Taguig would be unable to give the social benefits you have been enjoying," The Taguig City Public Information Office said at the time.
"We assure you that Taguig is prepared to take on the responsibility of governing your communities with the same commitment and solicitude it has done with its 28 barangays," it added.
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But What Happens to the Second District of Makati Now?
This decades-long row inevitably affects the second district of Makati, which has historically been a Binay bailiwick.
The second district of Makati covers 13 barangays, which includes Cembo, Comembo, East Rembo, Guadalupe Nuevo, Guadalupe Viejo, Pembo, Pinagkaisahan, Pitogo, Post Proper Northside, Post Proper Southside, Rizal, South Cembo, and West Rembo.
In the past, Binay was its congressional representative from 2007 to 2016. It is currently represented by Binay's husband, Luis Jose Campos Jr.
Numbers from the Philippine Statistics Authority back in 2020 project that there were roughly 375,000 citizens in the second district of Makati.
With the ruling, 10 of these barangays have now been transferred to Taguig, namely Cembo, Comembo, East Rembo, Pembo, Pitogo, Post Proper Northside, Post Proper Southside, Rizal, South Cembo, and West Rembo.
What's left of the second district will only be Guadalupe Viejo, Guadalupe Nuevo, and Pinagkaisahan, which are estimated to only total about 40,000 or so residents.
This could potentially mean that the population of the remaining three barangays won't constitute a legislative district, seeing as though the Constitution mandates that each province or city needs to have a population of at least 250,000 people, to have at least one representative in Congress.
The Makatizens have mixed reactions in the comments sections of broadsheets' Facebook page. Some are not happy with the decision, while a few look forward to being part of Taguig, a "loving and caring city."
Some are wondering how the University of Makati and Makati Aqua Sports Arena will be called now that Barangay West Rembo is part of Taguig.
Taguig said it has also reached out to Makati for "a coordinated and orderly transition." Binay, however, has reasserted that she worries for her former Makatizens. The dispute's long-term effects are yet to be seen.