MANILA – In this mall-crazy country, shoppers are expected to flock to malls during the 3-day-long weekend.

SM Megamall, the world’s 7th largest mall, told ABS-CBN News that they are expecting their daily foot traffic to increase by as much as 300,000 due to the long weekend.

On regular days, their average foot traffic is 200,000.

On Friday, the Philippines was on a non-working holiday to observe the death anniversary of Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino Jr., the husband of former president and the world’s democracy icon Corazon Aquino.

A number of shoppers donned shirts in yellow, the favorite color of President Aquino. The Mandaluyong-based mall is located near the portion of historic EDSA, a major city thoroughfare, where Filipinos flocked to unseat government leadrs in the past. The 1986 People Power catapulted President Aquino to national power—and to international fame.

The retail industry in the country is fueled by some $16 billion annual remittances sent by overseas Filipino workers (OFW). Despite job cuts in the OFW’s rich host countries, remittances to the Philippines have continued to reach record highs.

SM Megamall is one the malls of SM Prime, the holding firm of one of the country’s richest, Henry Sy.

SM Prime has about 36 malls in the Philippines and 3 in China. The aggregate total estimated gross floor area of SM Malls is almost 5 million square meters.

The nationwide chain of SM Malls includes biggest malls in the world: the 3rd largest (SM City North Edsa), 4th (SM Mall of Asia), 7th (SM Megamall), and 11th (SM City Cebu).

Shopping in airconditioned malls has become part of Filipinos’ lifestyle amid either tropical heat or strong and frequent typhoons.