The rift between Taguig and Makati over the 10 EMBO (enlisted men’s barrio) barangays continued with the closure of day care centers in the areas.
The Taguig City government denied allegations by the Makati City government that it did not prepare to open new day care centers in the EMBO areas.
Taguig earlier criticized Makati for closing the day care centers without any notice and for allegedly removing all playground fixtures.
Taguig Mayor Lani Cayetano (Photo from Mayor Cayetano's Facebook account)
According to the Taguig City government, the nearest elementary school will temporarily serve as a day care center in a barangay while new daycare centers are being prepared in the EMBO areas.
Makati responded, saying Taguig should stop blaming it for the closure. It added that it informed Taguig that the day care centers would be operating only until Dec. 31, which was extended to Jan. 31.
In its latest tirade, Taguig belied Makati’s claim that it informed the former of the closure of the facilities.
“Kasinungalingan na nagbigay ng paunang abiso ang Makati (It is a lie that Makati gave prior notice),” the Taguig City government said in a statement.
It said Makati City Administrator Claro Certeza did not mention when and how Taguig was informed about the closure.
Taguig said in November last year, its City Social Welfare Development Office (CSWDO) sent a letter to the Department of Social Welfare and Development-National Capital Region to request for a meeting with Makati for the transition of services and programs covering the 10 EMBO barangays which were transferred to Taguig by the Supreme Court.
However, Taguig said Makati’s social welfare department always evaded the request for a meeting, saying that a writ of execution issued by a court was needed.
“Ngunit dahil ayaw makipag-ugnayan ng Makati, hindi naganap ang nasabing pulong. Ang resulta: biglang isinara ang mga day care centers (Because Makati refused to contact [Taguig], the meeting did not happen. The result: the day care centers were suddenly closed),” Taguig added.
Taguig said Makati illegally occupied the EMBO barangays for three decades, based on the final decision of the Supreme Court, and it could not accept defeat in the case.
It claimed that Makati has been sabotaging the transition of services to retaliate at Taguig.
“Ang kahiligan ng Makati na magpakalat ng fake news ay tugmang-tugma sa kanilang pag-agaw sa EMBO mula sa Taguig (Makati’s penchant to spread fake news fits its snatching of EMBO from Taguig),” Taguig claimed.
The temporary day care centers designated by the Tagugi City government in EMBO barangays (Photo from the Taguig City government)