Housing in the Philippine is not all the same. There are many homes in nice areas that are modern and meet Western standards but that is not the home of the average family especially for those living in poverty.
The construction techniques and materials are in some ways different than what you would find in the United States and most other Western nations. The home in which is seen in the photos has two (2) types of construction. The "living room" and the area you might call the "dining area/kitchen" are built upon a slab foundation which sits upon the ground. These two (2) rooms are ones which had been remodeled their walls are "solid" (as a Filipino carpenter called it) and they are made of hollow blocks (cinderblocks) covered in concrete/cement, sometimes containing rebar too.
Below is a photo example of "solid" construction (versus wood construction).
Also, a perhaps better exterior view of the construction can be seen in the following photo:
If you're curious what the house looked like originally before any remodeling, take a look at the photo here.
The other two (2) rooms of the house are raised off the ground and sit on a pillar foundation and i'm told there is a concrete/cement foundation supporting the pillars. They are constructed of wood and the flooring is made of strips of wood with a gap/space (approximately 1/4" or 6-7mm) in between the wooden strips. You can see the ground through the wooden strips which the flooring consist of. This also allows some air flow and thrash disposal. Sometimes trash was swept or push through the flooring and cleaned from under the home later. This might seem unusual but the homes in general are very clean, as they clean often. Trash was regularly removed from under the home.
You can see the large step from the "living room", which is on a slab foundation, to the other two (2) rooms. There are no stairs, just a large transition. It can be seen in the photo below of their "living room" and you'll see where the solid construction meets the wooden construction.
The size of the homes are considerably smaller than the average American home and in many situations there are large families of many people in such small homes.
Most people can't afford beds and sleep on the floor. Some of the homes are too small even for the smallest bed. I visited the home of a lady named Cristine and her home was literally 6 feet by 6 feet (2 meters by 2 meters) approximately... it was divided in the middle and there was a raised area where I assumed she slept. There was no flooring, it was on the ground which consisted of a hard rocky surface. It was literally a shack.
In the typical home there is no ceiling, the roof sits on rafters and there is a gap around the entire parameter to allow for ventilation.
Prior to living in this house the family lived in a very small house that consisted of one room, which is seen below. They literally carried the home to a lot next to their present home, so one of their uncles would have a place to live. The people in the photo are some of his family members. I think the size of this house is no bigger than 8 feet by 8 feet (2.6 meters by 2.6 meters).
When I first arrived there was very little furniture and everyone slept on the floors. They felt that I was probably uncomfortable sleeping on the floor and they asked if i'd like to buy some type of bed or mattress to place on the floor. We looked at some small "twin size" mattresses... but I could see one of the aunts in the distance looking at other beds. I know she didn't want to ask and was fantasizing about the other beds... As I approached where she was at I could see her facial expression change and she looked excited. As I began looking at those larger beds (with frames), she said to me "all of my life i've slept on the floor, my dream is that the children didn't have to sleep like that too"... It touched my heart, I could have just purchased a full or queen size bed (if it would fit in their home) but I also realized a bunk bed would be more practical and more people could sleep on it. This made the aunt very excited and she said that was her dream bed. The whole family was very grateful.
You can see before and after photos of the living room and see their new bunk bed.
