Taguig, Makati reconcile over BGC dispute

After Taguig City Mayor Lani Cayetano extended the hand of peace to Makati Mayor Junjun Binay, both city governments agreed to avoid any further acts that may result in tension over the territorial dispute in Fort Bonifacio.

“We are very glad that Mayor Junjun Binay responded favorably to our calls for peace in BGC. We both acknowledge that as leaders, it is our responsibility to look after the welfare of our people first before anything else,” Mayor Lani Cayetano said.

“And the best course of action is to promote peace and prevent tension in Fort Bonifacio. We are fortunate that Mayor Binay shares the same position with us here in Taguig.”

Mayor Lani expressed gratitude with the renewed friendship between her and Mayor Binay, as well as their respective cities.

“Maganda hong senyales ito, maganda ho ang mensahe nito na ipinapaabot sa aming mga kababayan, sa mga taga-Makati, sa mga taga-Taguig na talagang noon pa naman ay talagang magkaibigan na,” she said after a brief dialogue with Mayor Binay inside the Taguig City Hall early Monday morning.

“Makakaasa po kayo sa bahagi ng Taguig saka bahagi rin ng Makati na hindi ho magkakaroon ng anupamang tensyon at iiwasan na ‘yung mga nangyari nitong nakaraang araw sapagkat nagkasundo ho kami na hindi ito ang paraan. Hindi natin pupwendeng isakripisyo ang ating mga tao dahil lang sa pinaglalaban natin at ang pinakamaganda naman dito, na pareho ang intensyon namin.”

Although no specific details were discussed on the Fort Bonifacio territorial dispute, Mayor Lani said what was important is that the lines of communications are open between Taguig and Makati.

“What is very certain is that both of us agreed that we don’t want the tension to escalate because of the dispute. We agreed to restrain our own people and promote peace and order,” she said.

NO COMPROMISE

“We are not compromising anything with this reconciliation effort and we would stick with our respective legal positions on the territorial dispute. We both recognized that it is not for us to decide but the court’s.”

She added that she and Mayor Binay respect each other’s differences and that they both acknowledged that they can both exhaust all legal remedies available to them.

“I know that we cannot fix everything in one sitting. But definitely this is a very good start and I am happy that the lines are now open between us,” Mayor Lani said.

She said that both of them were saddened by what had transpired between Taguig and Makati’s personnel the past several weeks.

“But pareho ang aming layunin, pareho ang aming intensyon, pareho kaming nalungkot sa mga nangyari nitong mga nakaraang araw. Again, hinihingi po namin ‘yung pang-unawa ninyo na ‘yung mga aspetong legal ay ipaubaya po sa legal team ng Makati at sa legal team ng Taguig kasi mahaba pa po at talagang napakalawig pa po ng tatakbuhin nitong kaso na ito,” Mayor Lani said.

“So for now, we are very happy na nag-agree kami pareho na walang tensyon, anumang mangyayari sa Fort Bonifacio dahil pareho naman po talaga naming intensyon ‘yan bilang mayor.”

Earlier, Mayor Lani extended the hand of peace to Mayor 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,” she earlier said, saying the people of Taguig and Makati are essentially “brothers and sisters.”###