EDITORIAL - Manila’s homeless

Here’s another distinction the nation doesn’t want: Metro Manila, according to an online site, has the world’s highest homeless population. The study, posted by List25.com on its website, is reportedly based on statistics released by the United Nations Commission on Human Rights, which estimates that there are 100 million homeless people worldwide.

Even if the study may be flawed, a drive around Metro Manila will show that the nation’s premier region has to have one of the highest homeless populations on the planet. People of all ages, from babies to the elderly, can be seen begging for alms along traffic-choked streets. Along Manila’s Baywalk, every bench and patch of grass is occupied at night by the homeless. During the rainy season, they huddle in the public lavatory until the downpour ends, and then they take their places along Baywalk, covering themselves with cardboard or aluminum sheets.

Informal settlers are included in the homeless statistics, and their numbers are spreading in other urban centers around the country including some of the top tourist destinations. Their numbers indicate the failure to achieve inclusive growth despite the country’s sustained strong economic performance.

Of the estimated 22.8 million homeless Filipinos, 1.2 million are children, according to the report. They are the ones most likely to be unable to attend school even if basic education is free and compulsory. Without education, they will be deprived of decent employment opportunities in adulthood and they will be vulnerable to labor and sexual exploitation. They face a lifetime of poor health after spending their early years burdened by malnutrition and unsanitary facilities.

The statistics in the online report may be inaccurate, but you don’t need an in-depth study to see that millions of Filipinos, in Metro Manila and other parts of the country, are homeless and waiting for inclusive economic growth.