Closure of aqua sports arena affects 4K Makatizens

Makati City Mayor Abby Binay felt sorry for the 4,400 Makati students that are affected by the sudden closure of the sports facility by Taguig City.

"Sorry sa aking mga batang Proud Makatizens. Sa kasamaang palad at pati ang MASA ay pinasara," said Mayor Abby yesterday.

The lady mayor was pertaining to Taguig City's closure of the Makati Aqua Sports Arena (MASA) in Barangay West Rembo following another series of incident reigniting the rift between the two cities. She added that MASA is not included in the closure order.

The city government said the closure affected the of 15 schools in Makati who has swimming lessons in the facility scheduled on March and April.

“Aside from this, students of the University of Makati and HSU also hold regular swimming classes in the facility," the local chief executive said.

Makati City condemns Taguig's continuous land-grabbing of its private properties and Mayor Abby clarified that these are not included in the Supreme Court's decision regarding the territorial boundaries of Taguig and Makati.

To recall, on 1 March, Makati City slammed Taguig City for "forcibly" entering the Makati Park and Garden located in Barangay West Rembo.

Reports showed members of Taguig Traffic Management Office tried to "forcibly" enter the park. However, the park's security guards and personnel of the Makati Public Safety Department barred them.

On 3 March, personnel of Taguig City reportedly locked the gates of Makati Park and Garden while there were still Makati employees inside and also served a closure order on Makati Park for not having a business permit.

The Makati City government said Taguig's Public Order and Safety Office personnel began massing up in front of the park and started to lock its gate.

In an earlier statement, Makati called out Taguig for its "childish, arrogant, and reckless actions" which can gravely undermine the ongoing efforts of the national government to attract foreign investments.

“How can foreign investors feel secure and protected when a local government in Metro Manila can behave with little regard for the law and the legal process," the local chief executive lamented.

Makati also reiterated its call on the concerned national agencies to censure Taguig for its actions.