People

Apart from the indigenous peoples (and there are various such people groups), few Filipinos can claim pure ethnic descent.   Most have inherited Chinese, Indian, Spanish, and Japanese genes from their ancestors.

The society of the Philippines has been described as a pyramid:  the elite at the top 0.1% of the population.  The Middle class seems to be shrinking at 19.1 % .  The low-income and non-poor account for 54% and 26.9 % are poor.      So yes, there are those who live in homes that we might consider a ‘mansion’ and those who live in garbage dumps and slums.    These contradictions are a part of the landscape of the Philippines and I am sure are a challenge for leadership in the country.

Here’s some information regarding where Manila’s garbage goes:   a large garbage dump has operated for over 40 years called Smokey Mountain.  It is known for decomposing at such high temperatures that it will catch fire. 

From Wikipedia: 
Smokey Mountain is the term coined for a large landfill located in Manila, Philippines. The area was cleared decades ago and became the site of numerous public housings for the impoverished people living in the slums surrounding the landfill. The slums were also cleared, which was the home of 30,000 people that make their living from picking through the landfill's rubbish.
Smokey Mountain operated for more than 40 years, consisting of over two million metric tons of waste. The flammable substances on decomposing waste led to numerous fires which has resulted in many deaths.
In 1993, a joint venture agreement between the National Housing Authority (NHA) and R-II Builders Inc. (RBI) was made to build a low-cost housing project at Smokey Mountain. On 15 August 2007, this agreement was declared valid by the Philippine Supreme Court.
Projects have been enforced by the Government and non-government organizations to allow urban resettlement sites for the slum dwellers.   According to a UN-Habitat report, over 20 million people in the Philippines live in slums, and in the city of Manila alone, 50% of the over 11 million inhabitants live in slum areas.

So I wonder what the statistics are on some of the landfills and slums in America?