Eat, pray, shop: Philippine malls become the new town plazas

As she eyes the colourful ice creams on offer at a Baskin-Robbins in one of Manila’s most luxurious shopping centres, Philippine teenager Jamie Gamboa admits to being an incurable mall rat - but not only for the shopping.

“It is the only place where you can just walk around without having to spend, and there are a lot of things to entertain us,” said the petite 16-year-old, surrounded by a gaggle of friends.

“We tried other places but it’s more of a hassle. In parks, there isn’t enough to do. A museum or a zoo isn’t a place you go to more than once.”

With their functions expanding from shopping and dining to venues for Catholic mass, Zumba workouts or even weddings, experts say malls are taking on a more important role at the heart of communities.

Filipino life traditionally revolved around a public square, with a church, local government building and market attached, where adults socialised and children played, according to urban planner Felino Palafox.

But while malls have long been a mainstay of urban Manila -- the capital has at least 153 peppering its skyline -- the neon-lit consumer temples are now sweeping across the Philippine archipelago, penetrating even rural areas.