The Department of Human Settlements & Urban Development (DHSUD) estimates that around 600,000 informal settler families, or roughly 3 million people, live in Metro Manila without secure housing and with limited access to basic services.
The discovery of families living beneath Manila’s busiest highways, also known as ‘mole people’, has renewed calls for a different approach to the city’s housing crisis, one that combines safe housing with jobs, services and long-term urban planning.
The tunnel settlements are part of a bigger housing challenge in Metro Manila, where millions of residents live in informal communities. The region, home to nearly 13 million people, is estimated to have between 20% and 35% of residents living in informal settlements.
Generally, over 100 families settle in tunnels, specifically 300 infants & elderly people, in Manila. Beneath the Osemeña Highway, residents live in narrow and poorly ventilated spaces that are less than 1.5 metres high and less than a meter wide. Similarly, 100 families are living beneath Quirino Avenue Bridge. These communities rely on informal electricity connections and face risks of flooding, fires and hazards.
However, for many families, the problem is not only a shortage of housing but maintaining a stable source of income. Philippine Statistics Authority shows average income levels remain below the cost of renting even modest accommodation in Manila, pushing many low-income workers toward informal settlements.
The Philippine government has increasingly promoted relocation through programmes. This year, 100 families in Manila received new 42-square-metre housing units through the city’s vertical housing program, helping former informal settlers and renters move closer to homeownership. The winners were chosen by lottery from 1,554 verified applicants, with affordable monthly payments set at ₱2,000–₱3,000.
Mayor Francisco Moreno Domagoso, who grew up in Tondo’s slums, said “the initiative fulfills his goal of providing families with the security and dignity he lacked as a child.”
GMA News reached out to DHSUD regarding the situation of the underground community, and they stated their solution is to enrol settlers into their ‘Pambansang Pabahay para sa Pilipino Program’, with families assessed for rental or ownership options based on their financial capacity.
However, Mayor Moreno has admitted, “there is still a lot of work to be done, but moving forward is what’s important.”
A 2020 report published by the Department of Education of the Philippines, states relocation has historically produced mixed outcomes. Studies of resettlement in the Philippines found that many families moved to distant housing sites, lost access to jobs, transport and healthcare. Researchers found National Housing Authority (NHA) houses in Manila remain unused or unoccupied, suggesting some relocation projects were not attractive or practical for residents.
Arguably, relocation doesn’t reduce informal settlements long-term because it doesn’t address why people settle informally in the first place: poverty, lack of jobs, education and healthcare.
It’s important to look at alternatives and other countries’ solutions to similar issues. For example, in Bhubaneswar, India, the ‘Jaga Mission’ has become one of the largest in-situ slum upgrading programmes. Instead of relocation, initiative grants land right to households while upgrading homes, roads, drainage, sanitation and other essential infrastructure within existing communities. Residents participate through local community groups that help plan and manage improvements.
The programme has spreading provided secure land rights to more than 50,000 families, surveyed 175,000 homes to guide upgrades and is expected to improve living conditions for more than 1 million people. According to World Habitat, this community-led model is being replicated in other parts of India.
For families living beneath the city’s highways, the solution isn’t finding a new place to live, but finding a place where they can continue to build a life.
