Christmas In General Santos

General Santos City may be the new site of Robinsons Mall and the soon to be constructed SM City but a tour around the downtown area will show you that the city is still in dire need of improvement infrastructure and investments wise.

There was a time during the administration of former Mayor Rosalita Nunez when General Santos was really booming--meaning commercial buildings everywhere, big malls, infrastructure projects and a vibrant market. I know Robinsons and SM are big investments (I am not even sure if SM will push through) but a friend who also hails from General Santos City and who studied College and started a family here said "ay ewan" when I told her the good news about Robinsons. Seeing Gensan now, I seem to have understood her reaction.

I was tryign to pin down the tail on the donkey as to what was missing in Gensan despite the big investments coming in. Finally, I realized that the small and medium entrepreneurs were missing in the picture. Streets like Pioneer Avenue and Magsaysay Avenue were like ghost town in the afternoon of December 24. It should have been different considering that people are still hot on their Christmas shopping.

Go to the malls like KCC and Gaisano though and you will see lots of people there. But KCC and Gaisano are not just the only entrepreneurs in Gensan. I would favor the growth of the small and medium enterprises first rather than see them die in the hands of big investors like KCC, Robinsons and SM.