Its always hard to find good budget accommodation in Manila and we think that this city isn't very backpacker-friendly.  The capital city is the main entry point to the rest of the islands and travelers are expected to stop over there once or twice during the course of their Philippine tour.  There are also lots of interesting places one might want to visit in Manila - either cultural or historical places, shopping areas, sites for some culinary exploration - before heading on to the beaches & islands.  The rates of travelers hostels aren't as cheap in terms of value-for-money as in our neighbouring South-East & East Asian neighbours, and I've always wondered why this is. So here are some of the best places we could find for a budget range of under-Php 1000 per night -->