MAHARLIKA

Maharlika, a word related to nobility, being of high class or of great character, it is also related to all those excellent,
fine, splendid and magnificent. To Baguio, It was the city’s first mall if you could call it that. I remember people sitting under the “pyramid” ceiling in the hope to absorb good luck as square benches formed into a box, lined the two Egyptian like roofs.

Now the spot where the benches were house stalls selling mostly cellular phone accessories. No one thinks any good
will befall them if they hung around. The narrow escalators still don’t work, I don’t remember they ever did but recall everyone anticipating its operations as no place in the city even had escalators at that time. At the basement, a
kiddie corner was set up along with food stalls to match. Fun rides and bump cars lured kids to Maharlika and was
regarded as a treat because it was the only place that had that.

On the second and third floors were posh shops selling imported items including Fred Perry leather suede shoes,
Sperry, topsiders, Dragonfly and Tretorn were being ogled on by the penniless as it was the popular footwear for the
lucky ones who had money to spare. The Jansport shop of Llito Pangilinan was also there with the prized backpacks which were also pelted with longing looks. Now the shops are mostly beauty parlors manned by drag queens and transgenders who haggle even before you start speak.

They ask if you want a rebond when they see your hair is curly or a perm is your straight. Dress shops for rentals
and tailoring services, the antique shop that is never really open, a derma clinic, music store and PX shops selling soap and chocolates still operate but are far and in between. The Tummy Fillers outlet has long been closed which
was a favorite for burgers, baked macaroni and chilidogs. At the rooftop of Maharlika today stands a few dozen small
establishments, allowed by the management making the place look cheap and unkempt. Extensions to the sidewalk,
roof deck and third floors has been made turning the place into a labyrinth. There is nothing splendid about the place today.

Amianan Balita Ngayon