Makati City Mayor Abby Binay on Friday, November 22, asked Senator Alan Peter Cayetano to stop using his position to intimidate national government officials and “man enough” to admit that Taguig has failed to match the health services provided by Makati.
“The problem with Senator Alan Cayetano is that he is blaming others to hide the failures of the Taguig leadership to serve the health needs of EMBO residents,” Binay said.
“He should stop using his position to intimidate the DOH and other national government agencies to do his bidding,” she added.
Binay issued the statement after Cayetano berated Health Secretary Ted Herbosa during a budget hearing for allegedly failing to extend health services to residents in 10 EMBO barangays.
In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the barangays fall under the political jurisdiction of Taguig.
The mayor also reminded Cayetano that it is the responsibility of Taguig, not the DOH, to provide free medicine to EMBO residents.
“It has been more than a year since the Supreme Court decided to give the EMBO barangays to Taguig. Makati even did what was expected of a good neighbor, even if it was not reciprocated by Taguig, by continuing to provide health services for EMBO residents until the end of 2023. One year is more than enough time for them to work on their health programs,” she said.
Binay said that Taguig’s adamant refusal to sign a Memorandum of Agreement with Makati is the root of the problem.
“All our proposals to ensure that the health centers will remain open were rejected by Taguig. Taguig simply wants to take over the health centers, which were built and maintained with Makati taxpayers’ money. They want to take over the health centers and for Makati to file a case in court. That is unacceptable. Panggugulang ang tawag doon”, Mayor Abby said.
“The offer still stands. Sign the MOA. Tapos ang usapan,” she said.
As of November 16, Makati’s Lingkod Bayan Caravan has served some 5,427 EMBO residents after Mayor Abby ordered their inclusion in the regular activity that delivers various services of the city, including healthcare and free medicines, on scheduled dates in the barangays.
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Meanwhile, Mayor Binay called on national government agencies to inspect public facilities in Taguig and make their findings public.
The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) conducted surprise inspections at the Ospital ng Makati (OSMAK) and the University of Makati (UMAK), which reportedly found no violations.
“In the interest of fairness, we ask the concerned national agencies to also conduct an inspection of Taguig Hospital, Taguig University, and other public facilities of Taguig and make public their report,” she said.