Senator Pia Cayetano pitches sports facilities, parks as alternative to mall culture

Senator Pia Cayetano urged the national government to invest more heavily in parks, recreational areas, and sports facilities, framing public spaces as a vital key to fostering healthier lifestyles and offering Filipinos active alternatives to spending their free time in shopping malls.

During a Senate Finance Committee hearing with the Development Budget Coordinating Committee (DBCC), Cayetano pressed Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Arsenio Balisacan on whether expanding public recreational infrastructure could counter the country’s deep-seated "consumption culture"—a phrase recently coined by Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Governor Eli Remolona Jr.

"Will the creation of parks, seaside boulevards, recreational areas, and sports complexes help?" Cayetano asked. "Might it curb the consumption culture, shifting people away from malls and toward parks, tennis courts, basketball courts, or activities like volleyball and pickleball?"

Cayetano noted that the national habit of spending heavily while saving little stems partly from a lack of accessible public alternatives. Providing open spaces for exercise and leisure, she argued, addresses the problem at its root by boosting public health, encouraging physical activity, and steering youth away from commercial hubs.

While Balisacan noted that the impact of such infrastructure depends heavily on strategic placement, Cayetano insisted that investing in provincial communities yields invaluable returns.

To illustrate her point, she cited Dipolog City, where the construction of a 50-meter swimming pool—paired with coaching from a former British Olympian—transformed local opportunities for young athletes.

"Some might say, 'Don’t put it in Dipolog, because what’s in Dipolog?' This is what's in Dipolog: human capital," Cayetano emphasized. "Youth that are waiting to be given something better to do than to go to the mall."