BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – The city government is trying to resolve some two hundred cases of multiple claimants over the stalls being rented out in the different sections of the Maharlika Livelihood Center to conform with the city’s policy of one person, one stall.
Assistant City Treasurer Fernando Ragma, Jr., a member of the Maharlika Livelihood Center Transition Committee’s technical working group, said that some 53 cases of multiple claimants covering some stalls in the newly acquired property are set to be resolved within the month.
He claimed that the city government aims to settle the multiple disputes over some of the stalls in the different sections of Maharlika so that the actual number of stallholders could be determined and to put an end to the rampant sub-leasing of stalls in the income-generating asset.
Earlier, some 960 lessees had been identified when the Maharlika was under the State-owned Human Settlements Development Corporation (HSDC) of the agriculture department but based on the inventory conducted by the city government, there were only more than 600 lessees.
Ragma pointed out that the discrepancy in the number of lessees is a product of the multiple claimants of some of the stalls aside from the fact that there are big stalls that were subdivided into several spaces and eventually sub-leased to interested individuals.
The assistant city treasurer added that Maharlika is covered by the city’s market code that is why some of its provisions are applicable to the stalls in Maharlika where sub-leasing is strictly prohibited.
He advised tenants to await the decision of the transition committee relative to the stalls they are occupying or conducting business because the collegial body will still resolve the pending disputes over some of the stalls but what is important is that status quo still prevails in the property until such time that the appropriate notices shall have been issued to them.
He explained that the city government is trying to resolve the pending disputes over the stalls the soonest and that any decision it makes will be based on who among the claimants will be able to show concrete proof of actual occupancy and the payment of the lease rentals due to the government.
Maharlika building structurally stable says expert
The City Budget Office said that the Maharlika building is generally structurally stable based on the structural integrity test conducted by experts commissioned by the city government for such purpose.
City Budget officer lawyer Leticia O. Clemente said that the positive result of the structural integrity test conducted in the Maharlika building is an assurance that the structure is still safe for occupancy by the tenants and the people frequenting the area for their business.
However, she claimed that there is a need for the city government to first retrofit the foundations of the structure if the city decides to put up additional floors to accommodate more tenants which was also part of the recommendations presented by the structural experts that conducted the integrity test on the building.
The city budget officer added that any improvement to the Maharlika building must pass through the scrutiny of the National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) as the building has been declared as a heritage structure, having been existing for 50 years.
According to Clemente, what the city government could do at the moment is work on the rehabilitation of the burned basement and the initial facelift earlier identified while trying to source out more funds to fully renovate the structure while maintaining its façade.
Further, she noted that the relocation of stalls identified by the Bureau of Fire Protection as obstructions along hallways and the lobby were the ones that were provided relocation spaces at the upper floors of the structure to allow them to pursue their business operations.
Clemente chairs the Maharlika Livelihood Center transition Committee which is tasked to facilitate the smooth transition of the administration and management of the Maharlika building from the State-owned Human Settlements Development Corporation to the city government following the lapse of the 50-year lease contract.
City earmarks P10-M for Maharlika market feasibility study
The city government earmarked around PhP10 million for the conduct of a feasibility study that to inform the crafting of a master development and conservation plan for the Maharlika Livelihood Center and the city public market that will serve as a blueprint for any future developments to be undertaken in these facilities.
City Budget Officer lawyer Leticia O. Clemente, who also chairs the Maharlika Transition Committee (MTC), said that the feasibility study will take around four months and will probably start by the middle of February so that the city government will have the requisite master development and conservation plan for both major income-generating assets to guide policy makers and decision makers in deciding future developments to introduce in these major city properties.
She added that the conduct of the feasibility study for both city assets is aligned with an earlier resolution passed by the City Council requiring the preparation of a master development plan and a conservation plan for the Maharlika building and city market for the city to have a blueprint of developments that will be allowed to be introduced in the said structures.
Clemente underscored the importance of conducting the feasibility study to serve as basis in preparing the master development and conservation plans for both the said areas so that future leaders of the city will be guided on what kind of developments should be introduced in any part of the facilities to avoid the implementation of improvements that are not part of the crafted plans.
The city government acquired ownership of the Maharlika Livelihood Center from the State-owned Human Settlements Development Corporation (HSDC) under the agriculture department following the lapse of the 50-year lease agreement of the city-owned land where the structure was erected.
Clemente stipulated that the master development and conservation plans will identify the kind and magnitude of development that can be introduced in the properties, especially that the Maharlika Livelihood Center is already a marked heritage structure by the National Historical Commission of the Philippines. (Baguio PIO)
