Forced to live in makeshift shanty towns built in disaster zones, the poor families of Manila being left behind by Asia's fastest-growing economy
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It is Asia's fastest-growing economy, but tragically many who live there are being left far behind in abject poverty.
These are some of the Philippines' most desperate people, the thousands of Manila slum and shanty town dwellers forced to live in makeshift homes hastily built from scrap in the areas most at risk from to natural disaster.
It is believed that around 105,000 of the 580,000 immigrants in the capital have been forced to set up home in disaster prone areas. The greatest threat is flooding, which occurs most years but they are vulnerable to powerful tropical storms.
Dinner time: A woman washes while keeping a ;lose eye on her children in Manila's impoverished P. Casal district
Recent reports have named the Philippines as Asia's fastest growing economy, however the housing shortage is still a major concern for many of the capital's poorest communities.
The Philippine economy grew by an impressive 7.8 per cent in the first three months of 2013, putting it above China in terms of economic expansion.
The government is investing heavily in its infrastructure spending around $10 billion on projects such as power plants, roads and schools creating more than 400,000 jobs.
In the notorious P. Casal district dozens of families are forced to live in strange tunnel-like dwellings built right next to the waterside. The crude homes are constructed mostly of scrap and recycled materials.
Single room shacks are home to entire families who sleep, eat and live on the same small patch of floor. Yet many of the residents are fiercely houseproud keeping their meagre homes spotlessly clean.
Waterside: These two children sitting on wooden planks along the creek in P. Casal district may look idyllic, but the water is badly polluted and the area is at risk of flooding
Early doors: The morning lights up a part of the community along the creek in P. Casal district. Recent reports have named the Philippines as Asia's fastest growing economy, however the housing shortage is still a major concern
Off to work: A Manila resident carries a ladder as he makes his way across a bamboo bridge as he leaves his dwelling along the coast of Navotas City near Manila
Ramshackle: A building along the creek of Manila's P. Casal district on June 9, is home to dozens of families despite being clearly unfit for human habitation
Life is little better across the city in the Baseco compound. Unable to afford real television ariels residents have taken to using cheap metal pans strapped to bamboo poles.
Last year more than 50 people died when Typhoon Saola struck and a further nine people were reported dead as torrential rain left almost 50 per cent of the capital underwater.
In 2009 the powerful Typhoon Ketsana devastated Manila the city resulting in hundreds of deaths.
The flooding, which was neck-deep in some areas, forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes for high ground.
Tuning in: Metal basins serve as makeshift television antennas for families living in the Baseco compound on the edge of Manila
Bath time: Two young boys splash around in a paddling pool along Legarda street in Manila, Philippines
Two boys pass away the hours sat on the floor of their home in Manila's P. Casal district (left) and a view down one of the makeshift streets in the Baseco compound (right)
Hanging out: A woman dangles her leg out of a building made up of scrap and recycled materials along the creek of the P. Casal district
Bite to eat: A family sits down on the floor of their home for a simple rice meal in a tunnel-like dwelling along the creek in the P. Casal district
Making a living: A local man makes charcoal from driftwood washed up on the shore near the Baseco compound
Marginalised: Residents are seen in the tunnel-like environment along the creek in P. Casal district
A cat stands on top of a caged dog as a family crowd around a television in Manila's P. Casal district
Into the gloom: A dog stands guard near a family's home in Manila's P. Casal district
Motorcycle ride: A man on a scooter zips past shanty houses along Legarda street in Manila
Shanty town life: Residents go about their daily chores near the creek in P. Casal district
A place called home: Shanty houses made up of scrap and rubbish are seen along the creek in the P. Casal district
Looking out to sea: A child leans back on a bamboo stilt holding a fishing boat along the coast of Navotas City in Manila, Philippines
Catch up: Neighbours chat in the morning sunlight along the creek in the P. Casal district
Dinnertime: A woman prepares a meal on a camping stove in one of the tunnel-like homes along the side of the creek in Manila's P. Casal district
Water world: Shanty houses along the creek in Manila's P. Casal district
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