Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, November 8) — Following the easing of pandemic restrictions, Vice President Leni Robredo said the government should invest in building more open spaces, as Filipinos turn to shopping malls amid the lack of public parks.
“Kapag nag-build back better tayo, kailangan taken into consideration na ang klase ng public spaces na pinagkakagastusan ng pamahalaan natin,” she said during a virtual briefing.
“Ngayon nakikita natin na kailangan natin ng mas maraming open spaces, parks,” she added.
[Translation: When we start building back better, we need to take into consideration the type of public spaces that our government should spend on. Now we have realized that we need more open spaces and parks.]
It was Robredo’s response when asked on Monday about the decision of the pandemic response task force to allow minors in malls in Metro Manila after the capital shifted to Alert Level 2.
Under Alert Level 2, business establishments can cater to more customers as operational capacities are expanded to up to 70%, depending on whether their operations are indoors or outdoors.
READ: Families troop to parks, churches, malls in NCR’s first Alert Level 2 weekend
“Karaniwan na pasyalan ay malls kasi kulang na kulang ang ating public spaces, so dapat paghandaan natin ‘yun,” she added.
[Translation: We usually visit malls because we don’t have enough public spaces, so we have to prepare for that.]
