The Air-Conditioned Theft: How Malls Became the New Monuments of Corruption

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

Stop the excuses. Let’s bury the tired clichés that “this is just how Filipinos are” or that “we simply love malls.” The grotesque imbalance between the towering glass cathedrals of retail and the tragic absence of parks, libraries, and public sports grounds in the Philippines is no accident. It is not a cultural quirk.

It is a symptom of a predatory system—one that is far more comfortable with profit than public welfare, and far more skilled at backroom negotiations than providing for the common good.

The Privatization of Rest

In a functioning society, the ability of a citizen to rest is considered essential infrastructure. A healthy government invests in parks where the child, the elderly, the destitute, and the wealthy can coexist. In these spaces, breathing is free. Sitting is a right. Socializing is unconditional. There is no receipt required for your existence.

But in a decaying system, leisure is privatized. The message from the state is clear: If you want to sit down, enter a mall. If you want to escape the sweltering heat, you must spend. If you want to feel "safe," you must be a customer. By surrendering public spaces to private developers, the government has effectively sold our right to the city. We have traded our town squares for food courts, and our dignity for "sale" alerts.

Corruption as an Architectural Process

This is where corruption evolves. It is no longer just a brown envelope passed under a table; it is the very process by which our cities are built.

The Public Park: It offers no kickbacks. There is no "rezoning windfall" for a politician’s pocket. It doesn't fund a campaign. There is no corporate-sponsored ribbon cutting with a multinational logo in the background.

The Mega-Mall: It offers everything.

Every mall begins with a signature. A rezoning of "underutilized" public land. Fast-tracked permits that bypass scrutiny. Environmental and traffic clearances that are deemed "manageable" with a nod and a wink. Violations that are marked "to be corrected later" but never are. On paper, it is legal. In reality, it is negotiable. And in a nation where oversight is a suggestion, "negotiable" is rarely free.

The Rhetoric of Deception

Observe the pattern of the language used to rob us. When a piece of land is reserved for public use, it is labeled "unproductive." The moment a developer eye-balls it, it becomes a "prime commercial opportunity." When the people ask for a park, the government cries "no budget." But when a mall is proposed, it is hailed as a "job generator." Let us translate that: There is no money to be made from a park by those in power. A park serves the people; a mall serves the shareholders and the officials who greenlit the project.

The Illusion of the Public Square

Let’s stop pretending that a mall is a public space. It is not. It is private property where your presence is tolerated only under strict conditions:

You must be quiet.

You must be presentable.

You must, preferably, have the intent to consume.

In the mall, protest is forbidden. Sleeping is a violation. Being "too poor" is a reason for removal. The "freedom" offered within these air-conditioned walls is conditional and guarded by private security. That is not leisure. That is social control dressed as convenience.

The Invisible Scandal

Perhaps the most tragic part of this tragedy is that we have grown used to it.

When there are no sidewalks, we say, "It’s okay, there’s a mall." * When there is no park for our children, we say, "At least there’s air-conditioning." * When the government fails to provide, we say, "Thank God for the private sector."

This is how corruption becomes invisible. It doesn’t need to be a loud scandal when the entire urban landscape is designed to replace the obligations of the state with the businesses of the elite. We have been conditioned to accept a life where every moment of joy must be purchased.

The Stolen Right to Exist

Malls, in isolation, are not the enemy. The enemy is a system that repeatedly chooses the mall over public life. A society that cannot imagine joy, rest, or dignity without spending money is a society that has already been captured.

Corruption does more than steal taxes. It steals space. It steals our right to rest and our right to exist in our own country without paying a toll. It is a quiet, deep-seated scandal—one that cools us with air-conditioning while it slowly suffocates our sense of community.

With record budget allocation, DepEd expands School-Based Feeding Program to reach more learners

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

 

MAKATI CITY, 8 January 2026 -- Backed by a record budget allocation of Php1.015-trillion for basic education, the Department of Education (DepEd) will significantly expand the School-Based Feeding Program (SBFP) in 2026, targeting around 4.6 million learners nationwide as part of the government’s push to address malnutrition and improve school participation. 

With the strong support of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. and the Congress, the Department has secured Php25.7 billion for the expanded SBFP, allowing wider coverage across early grades and nutritionally at-risk learners in higher levels.  

Under the expanded program, DepEd will provide nutritious meals to about 1.52 million kindergarten learners and 1.79 million Grade 1 learners for 200 feeding days. An additional 1.18 million learners in Grades 2 to 6 who are classified as wasted or severely wasted will also receive meals for the same duration.  

“Malinaw po sa datos na hindi makakapag-aral nang maayos ang bata kung gutom siya. Kaya pinalalawak natin ang School-Based Feeding Program para mas maraming mag-aaral ang mabigyan ng sapat na nutrisyon, lalo na sa mga unang baitang at sa mga pinaka-nangangailangan,” Education Secretary Sonny Angara said. “Higit sa pagbibigay ng pagkain, layunin ng programa na matulungan ang mga bata na manatili sa paaralan at maging handa sa pagkatuto araw-araw,”

For the first time, the program will also cover around 140,000 nutritionally at-risk, disadvantaged, and vulnerable learners beyond grade 6 including pregnant learners enrolled in public schools, who will receive nutritional support for 180 feeding days.

This component of the program will be implemented in coordination with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG), integrating maternal and child health support.

The expanded coverage reflects the government’s renewed focus on improving learning readiness by addressing hunger and malnutrition, which continue to affect school attendance, participation, and overall academic performance, particularly among learners from disadvantaged communities.

To improve program targeting and implementation, the Department will roll out the System for Intelligent Growth and Learner Anthropometry (SIGLA), an Artificial Intelligence-enabled platform designed to streamline the collection and validation of learners’ health and nutrition data.  

Local government units may serve as implementing partners through memoranda of agreement, with DepEd encouraging on-the-ground collaboration in program delivery. In providing meals and other learner needs, the Department said preference and priority will be given to locally produced food and refreshments, or Philippine-made products, in line with the Tatak Pinoy Act (Republic Act No. 11981), supporting local producers while ensuring fresh and culturally appropriate food for learners.

Meanwhile, milk feeding under the program will be handled by the National Dairy Authority and the Philippine Carabao Center, supporting both learner nutrition and the local dairy industry.

DepEd said the expanded School-Based Feeding Program underscores the administration’s commitment to making schools not only centers of learning, but also safe and supportive spaces where learners’ basic needs are addressed.

The Price of Progress: Filipino Consumers Fight Back Against New "Green" Power Charges

Wazzup Pilipinas!? 

In the crosshairs of a global climate crisis and a local economic struggle, a new battle line has been drawn in the Philippine energy sector. As the nation attempts a bold pivot toward renewable energy, the very citizens meant to benefit from this transition are sounding an urgent alarm: they simply cannot afford the cost of the future. 

The Breaking Point

For the average Filipino household, electricity bills are more than just a monthly chore—they are a source of "prolonged burden" and "injustice." It is against this backdrop of high power rates that the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) has greenlit the Green Energy Auction Allowance (GEA-All) charge. 

Effective this month, this new line item is designed to fund differential payments for renewable energy plants under the government’s auction program. While ERC Chairperson Francis Juan has defended the measure, consumer advocates argue it is one straw too many for the camel’s back. 

A Double Burden on the People

The GEA-All charge does not arrive in a vacuum. Consumers are already paying a Feed-in Tariff Allowance (FiT-All), a uniform charge intended to support renewable energy development. 

Bas Umali, National Coordinator for the consumer welfare group Kuryente.org, has stepped forward as the voice for the millions of affected families. His plea is simple yet desperate: Defer the charge. 

"We understand the long-term benefits of renewable energy, but right now we consumers are seeking immediate relief," Umali states. "We respectfully ask the ERC to consider deferring the implementation of this measure... in consideration of consumers who are already burdened by high electricity prices." 

The Missing Link: The Just Transition Bill

The core of the conflict lies in the way the transition is being handled. Kuryente.org argues that while the government is quick to implement new charges, it has been slower to provide the necessary legal protections for the poor. 

The organization is calling on lawmakers to stop prioritizing new fees and instead focus on the Just Transition Bill.  This critical piece of legislation is designed to:

Protect consumers from skyrocketing prices during the shift to cleaner energy. 

Ensure fairness so that the "green" revolution isn't funded solely on the backs of those who can least afford it. 

Establish transparency and good governance within the energy industry. 

The Call for Justice

As the GEA-All charge begins to appear on monthly statements, the demand for "immediate and concrete measures" to reduce costs grows louder. For Kuryente.org and the consumers they represent, the energy transition must be more than just a shift in technology—it must be a shift toward humanity and affordability. 

The Filipino people are not against a cleaner planet; they are simply asking for the right to a sustainable future that doesn't cost them their present survival.