Financial study on Maharlika Livelihood Center, Bared

12 August 2021 – City Budget Officer Atty. Leticia Clemente presented the financial study conducted by her office of the Maharlika Livelihood Center (MLC)   in Tuesday’s regular management committee meeting led by Mayor Benjamin Magalong at Baguio Convention Center.

Her report showed that the city council passed resolution no. 459, series of 2019, stating that the city government has now signified its intention to reclaim and initiate the early turnover of the facility to the city.

It also authorizes  Mayor Magalong, representing the city, to negotiate and enter into an agreement with the Human Settlements Development Corporation (HSDC) for the immediate turnover of the MLC to the city possibly by 2020.

The Mayor, however, left the measure unsigned and it was referred to the august body’s committee on laws for further study.

The study gave the following findings and recommendations:  That the MLC is an excellent business venture as it carries a wide variety of trade and industry under one roof at the very heart of the city; the facility earns double the earnings of the public market though its number of stalls is only 24 percent of that of the market and its land area is only 17 percent of the market’s area.

The MLC is also a government undertaking that has been allegedly a subject of questionable financial integrity over the past years and has become a livelihood center not only for the public but for “very enterprising” people.

Another recommendation is that the city should be very aggressive in taking over the MLC and make it one of its prime own-source of revenue for its people.

As to ways forward, the study states that the city should determine its vision and goals for the MLC; gather all necessary data related to the facility’s present operations; and prepare for the MLC’s future operations upon take over.-Gaby B. Keith