Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Secretary Benjamin Abalos Jr. said he believes that amicable negotiations will end the current conflict between the cities of Taguig and Makati.
Abalos made the remarks during the reopening of West Rembo Fire Station which was previously closed by the Makati City government, following an earlier Supreme Court ruling transferring the jurisdiction of the so-called 10 Embo (Enlisted Men’s Barrio) Barangays to Taguig City.
“What is important is continuous service. Because of this, I am grateful to the City of Makati, and hopefully, we will solve this issue. What are the knots and tangles, can be discussed properly,” he said.
Abalos called for uninterrupted delivery of public services for the affected residents of the EMBO barangays who were the unintended victims of the dispute.
The DILG chief likewise expressed gratitude to Makati City Mayor Abigail Binay for allowing the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) personnel to man and utilize the fire station during the “transition”, until a possible resolution of the matter is reached.
“Mayor Abby allowed us. The terminology here is transition until everything is really well,” he shared.
Abalos added the reopening of the West Rembo Fire Station was a move in the right direction and a clear sign that public service remains the paramount desire of both Mayor Binay and Mayor Lani Cayetano of Taguig City.
For his part, Makati Administrator Claro Certeza said that while the DILG and Makati would still discuss on the sidelines the details of the BFP’s use of the Embo fire stations, “what is important is the re-opening of the stations for continuity of public service”.
On Friday, Senator Alan Peter Cayetano expressed his anger, saying the Makati City government denied the Embo barangays a proper transfer to Taguig.
He said the closure of the fire stations was ordered by Mayor Binay despite her earlier statement that her city would comply with the Supreme Court decision that placed the said barangays under the City of Taguig.
The senator said aside from fire stations, Makati has also closed health centers, schools, and police stations in Embo villages.
Cayetano said that the people of Taguig were put in grave danger on Christmas Eve until now because the fire stations in the said areas were locked.
Cayetano said he discovered the matter on New Year’s Day when he and his wife, Taguig Mayor Laarni Cayetano, visited the Barangay West Rembo and Comembo police stations.