ALL of us have been witnesses of the ongoing saga of the high profile and sometimes tense dispute between the cities of Makati and Taguig on which city has jurisdiction over the Bonifacio Global City — the country’s premier central business district (CBD). The issue began when the government, through the Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA), decided to privatize 264 hectares of prime land of what used to be Fort Bonifacio, the main military camp of the Philippine Army.
Just like any huge undertaking, the development of Fort Bonifacio into a business district met skepticism from many critics. The common criticism pointed mostly to the business attractiveness of such development considering that it was located near the thriving Makati Business District. It was when a visionary businessman, Manny V. Pangilinan, placed a big bet on the development that the vision and the foundation for what is BGC now became a reality. It was the Fort Bonifacio Development Corp. led by MVP that engaged the global design firm, HOK, to draw the design of the BGC. The young rising architect and urban planner, Sean Chiao (who is now the global CEO of Surbana Jurong), led the HOK team. The Ayala group continued the implementation of the masterplan, albeit, with revisions, when they bought out the shares of the Metro Pacific group. With their experience and brand reputation in the real estate industry, the Ayala group, together with BCDA, grew the city to where it is now.
But why are the two cities fighting over it?
The answer lies in the strategic value of a master-planned city or town in its economic development. A carefully drawn city masterplan is not just an urban planning document. More than anything, a city masterplan is a leadership and governance tool. It helps a mayor shape long-term development, unify stakeholders, demonstrate vision, and deliver measurable results.
A masterplan provides long-term vision and strategic direction. It lays out how the city should grow over the years and decades of development — land use, mobility, housing, environment, and business districts and economic zones. A mayor with a city masterplan positions himself as a visionary leader — one capable of looking ahead to bring his constituents to their dreams and aspirations of quality life for their families. Aligns all city departments under a coherent plan.
A city masterplan also provides a tool for alignment of all stakeholders. City building and governance requires the ownership not only by the mayor but all its citizens and even with the national government leaders. Unless the mayor can champion a common vision for everyone to own, all city or town developments will be shortsighted and does not bring out the energy of all the people involved to make radical positive transformations to happen. The masterplan prevents haphazard or politically driven development and it ensures continuity beyond election cycles. City planning and development demands vision beyond the three-year elections cycles as all infrastructure developments take beyond this period to implement.
A masterplan leads to resource and budgetary efficiency. As can be seen with most government infrastructure projects without a masterplan, infrastructure projects are mostly redundant or misaligned. This helps prioritize high-impact projects, avoids wasteful spending and duplication; makes capital investment more predictable and guarantees integrated planning of roads, drainage, utilities and mobility.
At the center of the Taguig and Makati dispute over BGC is the opportunity to attract investors and business — local or international — that creates thousands of jobs for the citizens. But businesses think long term and hence, they prefer cities with a clear roadmap. Thus, a masterplan provides certainty and reduces risk for investors; creates zones for industry, tourism, commercial development; helps secure PPP (public–private partnership) projects and boosts competitiveness with other cities. The local revenues from business and real property taxes, generated by the businesses in Makati (Ayala CBD) and Taguig (BGC) amount to billions of pesos that bolster these two cities as the richest cities in the country.
More than the revenues, a masterplan enhances disaster resilience and climate preparedness. Urban design and masterplanning include risk analysis (floods, earthquakes, storms, sea-level rise). A good masterplan can save hundreds and even thousands of lives from the destructive effects of super typhoons, floods and other natural calamities created by climate change.
Good urban design transforms walkable streets, public spaces, parks, proper zoning, and access to basic services that boosts the citizen’s quality of life. In return, the citizens will always remember the legacy of the mayor that brought them the safety, prosperity and convenience in the city. Consequently, the city defines its pride and identity.
A mayor must always be aspirational and effective. A well-crafted masterplan is an essential tool for economic development and a powerful weapon for political continuity that all political leaders aspire for.
Let us elect leaders with vision, courage and skills to create a masterplan for their respective towns and cities. When every city and town is prosperous, disputes are unnecessary and all Filipinos can live in peace and prosperity.
