Concerns were raised over the arrangement of DiliMall’s floor tenants, as students and other Filipinos noticed that establishments catering to student needs, such as printing services, were located on higher floors.
University of the Philippines Vice President for Development Daniel Peckley Jr., during a dialogue with stallholders on Wednesday, November 28, presented a list of establishments set to occupy the successor to the razed UP Shopping Center (SC).
DiliMall is the successor of the UPSC in UP Diliman, which was gutted by a fire in 2018.
The UPSC used to house food stalls and small restaurants, computer shops, money transfer services, optical shops, school supplies stores, and photocopying and bookbinding services, among others.
Tinig ng Plaridel, the student publication of the UP College of Mass Communication, reported that DiliMall is under the management of CBMS-RMCS, a private third-party operator.
The publication noted that big stores such as Power Mac Center, Shakeys, KFC, Zus Coffee would be located on the ground floor.
Meanwhile, tenants of UP Area 2 and stallholders from UPSC were planned to be placed on the second and third floors, “despite protests from the community over the limited space and steep rental fees.”
UP Area 2 is a spot in UP Diliman that has provided students with affordable meals, printing services, and school supplies stores since the ’70s.
The list of DiliMall’s tenants did not amuse some Filipinos who noted that establishments catering to student needs like photocopying were placed on higher floors.
“UPD already has a big @ss mall outside where most of these retailers also are, why can’t they give more space to the original tenants with stores that students actually need??” an online user wrote, referring to UP Town Center, a mall located outside UP Diliman.
“Bakit priority ‘yung Power Mac mga beh, ‘yung photocopy, bookbinding, computer shops, etc nasa taas?” another online user commented.
“Tapos bakit ang student essentials, aka photox and binding services, ay nasa pinakataas? Para kanino ba talaga ‘yan?” a different online user asked.
“Ang xerox-an, sa pinakataas! Goes to show na ang Dilimall, sa supposed PUBLIC univ [university], ay para sa kita at hindi sa serbisyo,” Kej Andrés, chair of the Student Christian Movement of the Philippines, wrote.
“Walang paki kung anong serbisyo ang mas kailangan ng students, the highest bidder gets the ground floor! As if ginagawang PRIVATE ang pamantasan ng bayan!” he added.
“Atsaka bakit nasa top floor pa ‘yung bookbinding at Xerox? Seryoso bang priority pa ‘yung Power Mac (na meron naman sa UPTC) over them na necessities at nanggaling pa sa nasunog na Shopping Center?” another X user wrote.
Last year, the UP Diliman University of Student Council raised concerns about the welfare of small business owners amid the installment of DiliMall.
The student council questioned the prime locations of commercial establishments compared to local businesses offering student services.
“These concerns were raised earlier in a dialogue with the student regent. Among those include the commercialization of DiliMall, where well-known commercial establishments are seen to occupy the first and second floors of the structure; meanwhile, the members of UP SCSAI providing essential services such as photocopying and printing are placed on the third floor,” it said before.
RELATED: ‘DiliMall’: Why UP Diliman’s new ‘shopping center’ is drawing flak
According to Inquirer, the UP System said that the mall has made sure “to provide convenience features like escalators and elevators—including a service elevator for tenant requirements” amid such concerns.
It also likened the setup to other shopping malls that have their “heavy-duty photocopying services” on the upper floors.
