Philippines hides slum behind wall ahead of poverty conference
MANILA, Philippines — Delegates attending an international conference in the Philippines capital may not see what they came to discuss: abject poverty.
A makeshift, temporary wall has been erected across a bridge on a road from the airport to downtown Manila that hides a sprawling slum along a garbage-strewn creek.
Presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang defended the wall's installation, saying Thursday "any country will do a little fixing up before a guest comes."
He expressed hope that this week's annual meeting of Asian Development Bank Board of Governors, which includes finance ministers and senior officials from 67 member states, will show the Philippines is open for business. The lending institution, which is headquartered in its own walled compound in Manila, aims to cut poverty in the Asia-Pacific region.
This is just common practice for nations hold international conferences and sporting events such as the Olympics or the World Cup pretend like poverty and homelessness doesn't exist in the host nation.
No comments:
Post a Comment