“Tulugan ng Bayan” The Political Economy of Gwapotel

Abstract

The housing sector in the Philippines had been having service backlogs since the 1970’s. As of the present, the rise in population is almost parallel to the rise in housing backlogs especially in urban areas and nearby provinces. Another persistent problem is the unavailability of jobs in the rural areas for the middle and lower class Filipino workers. Therefore, an increase of rural-urban migration occurs to cater to the needs of the workers. Everyday thousands of Filipinos flock the Metropolitan Manila to work or find work. The area becomes decongested and informal settlers increase in number. Lower class Filipino workers struggle to find a place to stay during their work in Manila. The high transportation costs had also placed a huge burden to such workers. The study focuses on one of the solutions of a government agency to a congested Metro Manila and the high population of lower class Filipino workers. In 2007, the workers’ inn known as Gwapotel was opened to the public by Metro Manila Development Authority. After more than a year in business, it is best to evaluate the project in order to identify its strengths and weaknesses. Majority of the government’s pro-poor programs had failed to cater to its target population, with the tendency to serve only the middle class. As one of the pro-poor projects, had Gwapotel really catered to the poor? Or is it only been another bogus project in Macapagal- Arroyo’s term?