Greenbelt 5

The last time I was inside Greenbelt 5 was more than a month ago. Phase 2 was still covered with dusts, the smell of paint was filtered through my nostrils and at every corner, construction was underway.  But after a couple of weeks of massive work, Greenbelt 5 is now in its full form, positioning itself as one of the few shopping centers that caters to the elite.

While the possibility of people being laid off from their jobs looms in the horizon, Pinoys are busy building malls…and shopping

Not that it is a bad thing. These malls that sprouted at every corner like your mega sari-sari store sent Philippines back to the map. It was SM Mall of Asia, the world’s third largest mall, that did it and every mall management seemed to head to that direction. We’re no longer just notorious for being one of the world’s most corrupt governments and top human resource exporters. We, a third world, have become the world’s shopping capital, housing every signature brands and welcome the likes of an Oscar de la Renta to our fold.

Our malls can actually shame those that stand on the English soil. Well, the British are known to build magnificent palaces that can overwhelm every visiting statesman. Even their ordinary houses can turn the most common among us green with envy. While we build palatial malls, we have a huge chunk of the population subsisting in a P50/day budget.

What we lack is a lifestyle consistency. We simply dress to impress.