2 MIN READ

By JOSEPH GREGORIO
www.nordis.net

BAGUIO CITY — A fire ravaged portions of the Maharlika Livelihood Complex, the oldest shopping center in the city, early dawn on Tuesday, July 16.

The fire is said to have started in one of the stalls on the 3rd floor of the building at around 1:00 AM. The initial report from the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) said a building guard alerted them. Fire marshals of Baguio are still investigating the exact cause of the fire.

Firefighters rushed to the scene, suppressed the growing fire, and declared the fire out at around 4:30 AM. No casualties were reported, and damages are still being assessed.

Mayor Benjamin Magalong immediately called for a meeting to address emergency needs and establish a plan to assist the affected businesses.

“We have to wait for the advice of the Department of Agriculture, primarily by the Human Settlement Office… For the meantime, our priority is to take care of the affected entrepreneurs,” the mayor told members of the Baguio press during an interview at the city hall grounds.

Built during the time of then-First Lady and Human Settlement Minister Imelda Marcos, the Maharlika Livelihood Complex Center occupies a prime area in the heart of the city beside the public market. The facility was intended to house those displaced by the fire that destroyed the old Baguio stone in 1970.

The government opened the shopping center in 1982. Human Settlements Development Corporation (HSDC), now an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, manages the facility. The 50-year land lease with the city will end in April 2025.

Maglong said the incident will not affect the city’s rehabilitation plan for the shopping center.

“We will still proceed with the timeline. By 2025, the government of Baguio will be taking over the facility,” he added.

Having no agriculture-related use, then-president Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, the president, ordered the return of Maharlika Center to the city in 2009. The city has been preparing to take over building management since 2021 after the agriculture department decided to turn over the facility before the lease termination. # nordis.net