SHANTIES. A giant billboard stands obtrusively against the shanties along the riverbank of Davao River. About one third of Filipinos are living below the poverty line, their condition worsened by rising inflation, which registered a 17-year high last month. The National Statistical Coordination Board (NSCB) reported in its latest poverty survey released in May that the number of ” poor” Filipinos grew from 23.8 million in 2003 to 27.6 million in 2006. (Photo by Keith Bacongco / AKP Images)