HOMELESSNESS IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines is one of the fastest growing country in

South-east Asia, yet it is facing homelessness crisis.
There are approximately 4.5 million homeless people,
including children in the Philippines which has a
population of 106 million people. Homelessness in the
Philippines is caused by a variety of reasons including
the lost of job, insufficient or lack of stable jobs,
domestic violence and loss of home due to natural
disasters.

Poverty is one of the biggest cause of homelessness in

the Philippines. Havingow income make it difficult for
many families in the Philippines, especially those who
are living in the slumps to pay rent. Although the
unemployment rate in the Philippines is low, 16.6% of
Filipino's wages remained below the country's poverty
line in 2018.

Domestic violence in the Philippines on women and children has a part in the
state of homelessness rate in the country. Women who escape their abusive
partner with theirr children, approximately aging between 15-49 years old,
could lose their source of income and have difficulty finding a place to stay as
the shelters for women tend to have a long waiting list.

Natural disasters like typhoons, falsh floods, earthquakes ang

landslides made some families lose their homes. In 2019, more than
20 typhoons hit the Philippines which affected the agricultural,
economical and infrastructural sector in some places of the
country.Many people had died and lost their loved oness and
homes. Some survivors of these disasters are still in the streets
hoping for their house to be built again.

The government, NGO's and religious institutions should work together to help the homeless.
Government programs like the Modified Conditional Cash
Transfer for Homeless Street Families Program( MCCT-HSF )
should be supprted with a right governance and support from
the government to help the homeless. This program provides
financial aids such as housing grants and funding for health
and education to homeless families. Government and NGO's
should also create a program where they conduct a job fair
where homeless people can apply and benefit.

Although the government and NGO's have made efforts to help the homelss population, much
more still needs to be done. Moving forward, these initiatives needs to be increased in order to
reduce homelessness rate in the Philippines.