Many Filipinos still suffers despite all-time low poverty rate

The Philippines' poverty rate fell to a record low last year, while life has shown little improvement for many low income families.

Amid a prolonged economic slowdown, more people are moving to a mountain of garbage in Manila to live and make a living by scavenging. In central Manila, modern high-rise buildings dominate the skyline. Not far away is a hill covered in garbage, waste and debris. Once considered the world's largest garbage dump, it was formed from more than a million tonnes of waste and now stands about four storeys high.

The Philippine government ordered it closed around 30 years ago. But garbage is still brought here everyday, attracting scavengers looking for anything they can sell. About one in 10 Filipinos live below the poverty line, on an average income of less than two dollars a day. Even as the government says the poverty rate hit a record low last year, hundreds of people still call this area home. 48-year-old Mayet moved to Manila as a child, hoping for a better life, but now survives by scavenging here.

A few years ago, Mayet could earn about one thousand pesos a day, roughly 130 Hong Kong dollars. But the weak economy has driven more people to move here and compete for rubbish, cutting into the income.

Across the mountain of waste, there are hardly any elderly residents. A local volunteer group says the living conditions are so poor that many residents die by middle age,with average life expectancy at only around 45 to 50 years.

Authorities are now asking residents to leave within the coming months to make way for an expansion of the container port, saying the site poses safety risks. However, a representative of the volunteer group says many residents have nowhere else to go and have received no government assistance.

A scholar says the waste pileup reflects structural problems including poverty and poor urban planning, which cannot be solved simply by clearing the site.