Manila skyline

A poor residential district and squatter colonies are overlooked by high rise residential and commercial buildings in Taguig, Metro Manila. The Philippines was Asia’s fastest-growing economy in the first three months of this year, but not all of the population has benefited equally from the boom. In recent years the rich have been enjoying significantly faster growth in income compared with people from middle and low income classes, according to an article by the Secretary General of the country’s National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB). The Philippines poverty rate was running close to 28% in the first half of 2012 - a figure the current government wants to cut by nearly half.