BY Kendric Dedase and Patrick Raphael Ulibas
Despite staunch opposition from the university community, the roster of shops in DiliMall continues to grow as the establishment opened three new shops—Shakey’s, Potato Corner, and Dunkin’—last week.
Displayed banners on DiliMall’s ground floor confirm that Southstar Drug, MiPanda, But First, Coffee, and Power Mac Center are also set to open to the public soon.
“Ang nakakalungkot dito is supposedly yung ground floor na to yung naka-allot dapat para sa mga manininda natin kasi ito yung mga spaces na pinakakailangan at fine-frequent ng students,” University Student Council (USC) Councilor Kristian Mendoza told the Collegian.
Since the Vice President for Development Daniel Peckley held a dialogue with the stallholders on Nov. 27, 2024, no concessions have been given to them—rental fees have remained high and spaces in DiliMall’s ground floor are still reserved for the establishments that have now opened.
The only development was the formation of a technical working group, which consists of the UP Office for the Vice President for Development, USC, and the UP Shopping Center Stallholders Association.
“Ang purpose nung group na yun is lip service practically. Sabi nila, it’s to facilitate a smooth transition from the Old Tennis Court to the DiliMall, pero that smooth transition means basta maipasok lang nang hindi na pinapakinggan yung terms na pinapanawagan ng community,” Mendoza, who is also a convenor of the UP Not For Sale Network, added.
Narry Hernandez, chairperson of the Samahang Manininda sa UP Campus, mentioned that they are still hoping that the UP System administration will honor the 2004 Memorandum of Agreement between original stallholders and the UP Diliman administration, who back then managed the old Shopping Center.
In the original agreement, the displaced stallholders had a 20% rental discount during the first five years and a right of first refusal, or the privilege to claim a space first in the mall. This was before the old Shopping Center burned down in March 2018 and custody of the UP Shopping Center was transferred to the UP System in 2019.
However, when the third-party master lessee CBMS Research and Management Consultancy Services (CBMS-RMCS) entered the picture in January 2023, the original stallholders were given no choice but to take the spaces offered to them on the third floor of the mall, in addition to high rental rates.
CBMS-RMCS’s current contract will only last for five years, but Hernandez said that the stores contracted in the establishment will probably stay longer, as with what happened at the Ayala Land TechnoHub and UP Town Center.
While Hernandez’s group continues to fight for the original stallholders’ spaces in DiliMall, other groups such as the UP Not For Sale Network and the All UP Academic Employees Union - Diliman are calling for the DiliMall contract to be reviewed.
“Kailangan munang upuan at kung kailangan ay i-abrogate muna itong kontrata na ito. Kung papaano, mas magkakaroon ng ganansya ang mga nakararaming sektor dito sa ating pamantasan,” Rollie Delos Reyes, president of the employees union, said.
Mendoza also said that the UP Not For Sale Network will look into the technicalities and the legality of the contract previously made between the administration and CBMS-RMCS. The network previously alluded to the possibility of filing a complaint to the Ombudsman during the opening of Robinsons Easymart on Nov. 20, 2024, but such action remains unclear.
Recognizing the developing establishments inside, Hernandez reiterated that prioritizing community vendors and stallholders in DiliMall would provide more affordable services for students.
“Ang panawagan na lang natin ay mabigyan ng espasyo yung mga maliliit na manininda at maliliit na negosyante, at maikonsidera yung kaukulan at nararapat na renta para sa mga stallholders association,” Hernandez concluded. ●
With reports from John Gabriel Mercado.
First published in the Feb. 18, 2025 print edition of the Collegian.
