Robinson's mall is a ghostown

Possibly the case, but then again it is the Philippines. I would bet there was/is a lot of book keeping slight-of-hand happening to keep the money in the right hands. Forcing honest, or at least "more honest", book keeping for tax collection purposes is probably a constant battle for the government. I really doubt the vast majority of small or large businesses in the Philippines are correctly reporting their expenses/revenue/profit. I've seen how certain small businesses deal with the BIR officials and I highly doubt much of that cash handed over is making its way into the government coffers. Seems more of a "go away" or "look elsewhere" type of transaction. I've never seen so many smiles when it came to paying the tax man.