Calasiao readies to invite SM Mall

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

CALASIAO – Not contented on hosting several members of the Top 100 Corporations in the Philippines in this burgeoning town, the young mayor here readies his economic advisers to draft a letter for SM Mall to put shop here.

SM Mall

Mayor Mark Roy Macanlalay cited Barangays Macabito, Buenlag, and Ambonao as viable locations this town’s could offer to SM Prime Holding, Inc. (SMPHI), SM Mall’s umbrella group, to build a giant retail store.
Aside from the large swath of land Macabito and Buenlag areas could offer, he said the location in Ambonao is located at MacArthur's National Highway.
An expert said at least SMPHI needs a contagious 10 hectares of land to host its mall.
“Kasi iyan pa rin iyong magagandang location. Pero sa ngayon, maraming idle lands.  Sa Macabito maganda rin doon, medyo na decongest ang development and traffic dito na masikip, may choice na ang mga tao”.
The mayors of the towns of Mangaldan and Sta. Barbara have shown interest too to host SM after the giant retail store plans went bonkers in 2013 to put shop in this first class municipality’s neighbouring city’s Dagupan.
In August 2010 Hans Sy, the scion of the founder of SMPHI, met Dagupan City’s former Mayor Benjie Lim to signify the intention of his corporation to build a regional SM Mall in the city that is bigger than the one in Baguio City.
That meeting was prompted by the construction here of rival’s Robinson Mall owned by the Gokongweis.
But the mall did not push through because the land that SMPHI bought in Brgy. Tambac has yet to be converted by the city council from agricultural to commercial, one stalling land owner there pegged the price of his land at P40 thousand per square meter, and Lim, owner of Magic Group of Companies, was defeated by former Vice Mayor Belen F. Fernandez in the 2013 mayoral contest.
Fernandez, owner of the chains of CSI Malls, declared her opposition to the presence of SM as it would prejudiced small businesses in the city.
After ushering the materialization of Robinson Mall at Barangay San Miguel here, Macanlalay said another huge Top 100 Corporation’s Puregold grocery store will be rising this year near Jollibee and Chowking’s. restaurants
The other new business edifices being built here at Barangay San Miguel are two big furniture and electronic shops.

The mayor, a licensed engineer and a Master’s of Public Administration’s graduate,  said that the construction of the rooftop of the multi-million pesos Sports Complex, for lease too for private activities, and  light-emitting diode (LED) powered street lights at MacArthur Highway, and a double A slaughter house will be soon finished.
Meanwhile, not to find itself unprepared for the influx of investors the local government unit (LGU) here adopted a more than million of pesos Electronic Business Permit Licensing System (EBPLS).
According to Joan Montoya, local chief of the Department of Interior & Local Government, the EBPLS caters to business permit, information data, and other needs of businessmen and investors here.
The system’s computer gadget, Montoya said, will be into full operation in the first quarter of this year. It will be run by personnel of the offices of the treasury and assessment.
EBPLS was a project initiated by Mayor Macanlalay at the Bottoms Up’s Budgeting of the Department of Interior & Local Government and Department of Trade & Industry.