MANILA — The local government of Makati on Saturday accused the city of Taguig of "forcibly taking over" the public schools affected by a Supreme Court decision on their long-standing territorial dispute.

Makati City Administrator Claro Certeza said the public schools in question are properties that belong to their local government. Among those supposedly affected were some schools in the "embo" barangays.

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From Friday night until Saturday, Taguig’s Public Safety Department personnel "attempted to forcibly take possession of several public elementary and high school buildings in the barangays," the statement read.

“These ‘enforcers’, who did not possess any writ of execution or any other lawful order, created unnecessary tension in these areas,” he said.

“Makati has already created a transition team headed by the undersigned to sit down with Taguig. We were ready to offer arrangements that would benefit the students. But Taguig apparently was not sincere and was in reality intent on using force,” he said.

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He also described this as “an act of duplicity and bad faith."

Certeza said the renovations in these public schools were paid for and owned by the Makati City.

"The decision of the Supreme Court involved a boundary dispute. It did not transfer to Taguig ownership of properties owned by the City of Makati," said the official.

"The city intends to file the appropriate criminal and administrative charges," a statement from the Makati government read.

For decades, Taguig City and Makati City have been at odds over the ownership of the disputed properties, as well as the renowned financial district BGC, also known as Fort Bonifacio or The Fort.

Following battles in lower courts which started in 1993, the Supreme Court in December 2021 ruled that the area's territorial jurisdiction falls under Taguig City. The Makati City government then filed an omnibus motion for reconsideration before the SC.

But in a resolution in September last year but only made public in April, the High Court's Special Third Division denied with finality Makati City's motion for reconsideration, saying that the basic issues it raised had been resolved and "duly considered" by the court in its earlier decision.

WHAT THE TAGUIG GOV'T SAID

In a statement, the Taguig government described Certeza's accusation as "a lie and another desperate attempt to mislead the public."

Taguig City said the Department of Education issued a Memorandum Order 2023-735, that transferred the management and supervision of the affected schools from the DepEd Division of Makati to the Division of Taguig and Pateros.

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"Taking their cue from the DepEd Order, the public school officials, teachers, parents, community leaders, and the City of Taguig have been conducting regular meetings in preparation for the Brigada Eskwela and the opening of the school year," the statement sent to ABS-CBN News read.

"It is in this context that the DepEd Superintendent of Taguig and Pateros has requested assistance from the City of Taguig, including the deployment of security personnel to ensure the welfare of the students, teachers, and staff, and the peaceful and orderly conduct of the aforesaid activities," it added.

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This was when the Taguig local government directed its security personnel to work with the school superintendent, the City of Makati, the national police, and relevant agencies in preparation for the activities.

But the Makati government "illegally barricaded the public schools and streets, which in at least one instance led to a school principal being prevented from entering her own campus."

"We take strong exception to the misleading and patently false statements made by the City Administrator of Makati, including the threats of criminal and administrative cases to be filed," the statement read.

The Taguig government described the Makati official's statement as something that would sow fear and uncertainty among the affected barangays "at a time when public officials from both sides of the fence should be coming together to make the transfer as seamless as possible."

"While we understand that emotions still run high and it is not easy to accept the ruling of the Supreme Court, we also reiterate that there is a point where professionalism, duty to the people, and adherence to the law must rise to the top," the statement read.

The local government stressed the need to exercise its jurisdiction over the barangays based on the Supreme Court decision.