Malling, past time to forget politics for awhile

Malls are the favorite places of the ordinary folks because of the cool temperature there. No. Correction please. Not because of that but because there is great lack of cultural events for the people to enjoy. To forget the convoluted state of our politics, our people go to malls in order to have a breather.

Actually, the only one that has a consistent free cultural fare is the Luneta Park where from Friday to Sunday, Gie Villasor-Arnold and her staff at the NPDC keep the events on time and always on sked as they have advertised in the papers. In fact, I should say that we should give them already trophies for their dedication to their jobs.

In Quezon City, do we have any cultural venue that is free? Very seldom, and the events come oncee in a blue moon. Me bayad pa. In Makati, the Glorietta has events but then the idea behind them is to sell a product/s, very commercial.

Anyway, malls offer takaw-mata displays. Sales here and there – 3-day sales usually after suweldo days like the fifteenth and the thirtieth.

But Folks, I like comparing the amenities offered in these malls. Two big ones whose owners landed in the list of richest business people in the Philippines do not have any water to offer for those eating in their food courts. Customers have to buy distilled or filetered waters (not alkaline which should be the case) for P10 per bottle. In another mall, the water trickles oh so slowly from the taps so that you could get tired of waiting for your glass to fill up. Instead of waiting for that slow quenching of your thirst, you just buy a bottle again from any of the stores.

This is worse. In a big mall, the toilet is terrible – no tissue, no water, no soap. But in this nice-looking mall, they even have a douche, a tissue and soap for you to wash your hands with. I think that city halls should inspect it and demand that they offer those that could make the customers not acquire any disease from the use of their toilets.

But you know Folks, in this very popular coffee store, I really get very “ugtas.” You know why? The toilets are unisex! Imagine! How unhealthy. The men who handle their thing when they urinate would use the faucets and the women would be holding those faucets as well. Can you imagine the transfer of ____ ? In reverse, women who were short shorts would be pulling the bottoms of their underwear which could have been dampened by their urine; so they would twist the door handles which the men would not be able to avoid not holding when they go out of the toilet.

I really don't know what was in the mind of the building permit officers when they allowed such unisex toilets to be built. Saan sila nag ma-malling, sa Hongkong kaya balewala sa kanila ang kalagayan ng ating mga kababayan dito?

Now is the time for the DILG to flex its muscles against such simple cases of no-attention to the health conditions of the people at malls:
1. unisex toilets should be banned;
2. toilet papers and soap should be available in all of them;
3. drinking water should be available in all places where there are food courts; and
4. every restaurant should have a washbasin where customers could wash their hands before eating.