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The country is clearly losing the battle against homelessness, and that requires a more creative approach to the problem. The government might consider constructing tenements for rent, in addition to single-detached houses for sale.

The government dutifully builds thousands of houses every year, but  most people cannot afford to buy them. The reason is clear enough: the land upon which the houses are constructed has been purchased at a high price.

If you factor in the cost of building materials and the profit the contractor has to make, you’ll end up with houses that are anything but low-cost, although they are classified as such.

As a result the people for whom the houses are intended shy away. 

We tend to equate squatters with seasonal construction workers and sidewalk vendors. But a quick survey of the slum areas will show that they host teachers and policemen as well. There are even bank tellers among them, even middle-line management personnel from the private sector.

A government study shows there are more than 600,000 squatter households nationwide, with Metro Manila hosting more than half of that number.

In other countries, government workers, even those occupying the lowest ranks, are classified middle class. In the Philippines, they live in the slums, with all the risks associated with that condition.