Greenbelt's "No Poor People Allowed" Sign Scandal

We've all identified the Ayala Central Business District (CBD) in Makati as a sanctuary of the rich, the well-off and the wannabes at some point in our life. Although not entirely true, the place itself is obviously designed to suit a rich man's taste for opulence and grandeur. But of course, as common practice dictates nowadays, it is deplorable for a "for the rich and well-off only" area to explicitly tell the people visiting it that it is for the rich and well-off only and that poor people and other harsh realities are forbidden in the said complex. Thus the photo of Greenbelt's "No Poor People Allowed" Sign:

For people curious of the sign's existence, yes it exists. People have confirmed it. The one who took pictures of the photos said it's in the Esperanza Drive side near Greenbelt 5 and at Timezone Greenbelt 3 near the cinema ticket counters. Here are more photos:

http://db.tt/h7dXotJ
http://db.tt/8xGDpBD
http://db.tt/a6c23VW
http://db.tt/H9eI5i2
http://db.tt/n4iqGzT

Now, we're not saying that this was purposely done by the Greenbelt Management. It could well be the result of pranksters sticking fake signs all over the area, or the work of a disgruntled employee fired over morning coffee. A @zeeheehee replied to the pictured tweet above, we presume she's from the Greenbelt Management, and said that he or she had no knowledge over the photo. Could well be a prank.

What's out of the question is it's authenticity. It's as authentic as a photo print out. Authenticity confirmed by Flickr:

Dates
Taken on March 23, 2011 at 10.43pm PDT (edit)
Posted to Flickr March 23, 2011 at 11.14PM PDT (edit)
Exif data
Camera htc_wwe HTC Desire
X-Resolution 72 dpi
Y-Resolution 72 dpi
Date and Time (Original) 2011:03:23 22:43:13
Software Camera 360
Image Description Camera 360
Orientation Horizontal (normal)

Here's another photo from the TNL blog to brush off any questions of authenticity: Click here

But for record's sake, we'll leave the photo up here. Discrimination or prank, it's up to you to decide, unless of course, it's proven to be a prank. And personally, I think that the Greenbelt Management is not as retarded as to put such a sign like this, not that our poor people would understand what it means anyway.

Expect these signs to vanish from the Ayala Malls in a few hours time. I heard their damage control team is one of the best in the world.

Update – Ayala Mall Official Statement:

Thanks to Azrael for the information and for @jploh for the first-hand photos.

'Till my next installment.