URDANETA CITY, PANGASINAN October 25 – Sometime in September 2015, SM Prime Holdings Inc. allotted P65 billion for capital expenditures which will be used in constructing new malls in 2016 to sustain its rapidly expanding giant chain of malls in urban centers nationwide.
Mixed reactions popped out in the social media concerning the establishment of SM malls in the cities of Urdaneta and Dagupan which were among the expansion areas of the giant chain of malls.
A Facebook account named ‘Proud Pangasinense’ compiled news articles pertaining to the planned erection of SM malls in the province of Pangasinan. The said account endorses the construction plan of SMPrime from which debates among netizens started. In the comment section of the post, ‘Proud Pangasinense’ the public was reminded to choose the politician that would approve the construction of the malls in order to contribute in enhancing the robust economic growth of the province and continue providing added opportunities for employment among qualified local residents and increased sources of livelihood of the people.
The identity of the said account is still unidentified. Also, the account compiled photos of assumed failed projects of the current Pangasinan government.
Netizens posted varying statements in reactions to the post. Some of them perceive the mall construction as a gateway of opportunities. According to netizen Joel Vergonia, “Sana matuloy para naman magkawork mga ibang tao at hindi na pumunta sa Manila para mag work.
Huwag na pulitikahin, isipin ang kapakanan ng taong bayan.” He believes that the mall will provide jobs. According to some netizens, the proposition to construct an SM mall in Dagupan has been said to be politicized which caused a delay to the project.
There are also some who are not in favor of the plan. Another netizen, Jerome Ocampo assumed, “Expect small businesses to die.” They don’t support the construction because small retailers will have lesser chances to grow. Some of them expect heavy traffic in Urdaneta.“Ok din SM pero traffic lang talaga ang prob,” Klentz De Vera Fernandez commented.
Leaked from the SM Prime website, the proposed SM Urdaneta is designed to build the mall on a58, 168 sqm area. The construction is scheduled for implementation in 2016. On the other hand, 87,366 sqm was allotted for the construction of SM Dagupan. Aside from Urdaneta and Dagupan, there will be new SM malls to be constructed in other parts of the country in 2016. In the planning stages are the following: SM City San Jose Del Monte, SM Commonwealth, SM City Trece Martirez, SM Tuguegarao and SM City Puerto Princesa. While in 2017, there are plans to construct SM Cagayan De Oro and SM Caloocan. SM Prime reaches out to provinces because its per capita income and rent per square meter is comparable enough to Metro Manila rate.
