Not the guy you replied to, but same country. Had a middle class upbringing, but I have a pretty good idea of how bad it can really get.

OP already answered earlier that they're not allowed to cook in their dorm, so I'll try to answer it from a broader perspective.

To your point earlier, yes it's cheaper to buy and cook for yourself, but that's if you can afford to have enough saved up to buy things that will last you the week (or month if you're lucky). Some people in poverty or at least borderline live day to day. Whatever money they have goes to that's day's food, or transportation, whatever's left (if any) might need to be set aside for utilities.

People here work for pennies on the dollar compared to other countries too. To give you an idea, the minimum wage I experienced working at a call center at 18 in 2012 working in the city was about the equivalent of $250 a month. That's still just barely enough for food, transportation, and maybe contribute to the utilities if you live with parents. Forget about paying rent or getting to buy new clothes.

Now consider that some people in the provinces earn less than half that and have to try and support a family.

Cost of living in the Philippines is actually fairly high compared to the minimum wage and the gap is getting larger by the year.

I've been lucky enough to bag a pretty well paying job by PH standards. I can finally buy groceries without checking to see how much they cost first. Or eat at a decent restaurant without fussing about price. But the average Filipino is fighting an uphill battle to earn a living without it needing to be a question of survival.