NO SAY Residents in the 10 Enlisted Men鈥檚 Barrios or 鈥淓mbos,鈥� which were earlier declared to be under the jurisdiction of Taguig and not Makati, will not have a say in who gets to represent them in the lower house in the 2025 midterm elections. 鈥擨nquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines 鈥� Residents in the 10 Enlisted Men鈥檚 Barrios (Embo) barangays who were transferred in 2022 to the jurisdiction of Taguig from Makati City would be able to vote for candidates running for national and local posts in next year鈥檚 midterm elections, but not for a House member.
Commission on Elections (Comelec) Chair George Garcia said on Tuesday the poll body en banc arrived at a decision during a recent meeting, as the affected Embo residents had yet to be assigned their designated districts.
Garcia said the Comelec decided to prepare the ballots early and give concerned parties enough time to question the legality of its decision before the Supreme Court.
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Up for grabs in next year鈥檚 elections are seats in the Senate and House of Representatives, in addition to local posts ranging from governor, vice governor, provincial board member, mayor, vice mayor to city councilor.
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Taguig City has two seats in the House. But with the combined population of the Embo barangays鈥攃omposed of Pembo, Comembo, Cembo, South Cembo, West Rembo, East Rembo, Pitogo, Rizal, Northside and Southside鈥� a new district could be created, Garcia said. A district is made up of at least 250,000 residents. The 10 Embo barangays have around 300,000 residents.
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Up to Congress
Garcia explained that only Congress has the authority to assign districts for the affected barangays.
鈥淐urrently, there is no status yet, there is no law that states that a new district is being created there in Taguig. At the same time, the Comelec cannot include them in the 10 barangays in one district because 鈥� that will be changing the existing law that we have,鈥� he said.
On the other hand, the around 38,000 residents of the three remaining barangays in Makati City鈥檚 second district, which the 10 Embo barangays used to be part of, would be able to vote for all positions in the 2025 elections, including House representative, Garcia said.
The poll body has no authority to dissolve districts either, he explained.
Makati鈥檚 second district is currently represented in the House by Rep. Luis Campos Jr., the husband of the city鈥檚 incumbent mayor, Abigail Binay.
Binay, who is serving her last and final term, said earlier that she wanted Campos to succeed her and ensure the continuity of her programs and projects for the city.
The territorial dispute between the cities of Makati and Taguig dates back to 1993, when the latter filed a complaint against the former before the Pasig Regional Trial Court to resolve jurisdiction over the Embo barangays and Fort Bonifacio. The case was elevated to the Court of Appeals and, later on, the Supreme Court.
On Sept. 28, 2022, the high tribunal鈥檚 Special Third Division denied with finality Makati鈥檚 omnibus motion for reconsideration of its Dec. 1, 2021, decision, which declared that the disputed properties were within Taguig鈥檚 territorial jurisdiction.