The salary the worker was expecting was often written in the resume directly ("Expecting no less than 40,000 peso a month"). All of the figures were higher than what they would net, because of the overhead of the remote office in Manila that acted as local HR and a place to work).

Only one resume I looked at didn't have a photo insert on the front page. Only a few didn't mention religion and hobbies. These are asides. Salary was $400 US per month for programmers working full time (we paid $1200 including the "HR/seat/office fee" - we were to look at coworking spaces in the future).

All the staff travelled roughly 70-95 minutes each way - we offered remote (at-home) work if their conditions were ok, but most didn't have a decent computer, had no aircon, had noise issues and couldn't guarantee an unoccupied room for six hours per day at least, so the risk was too high, given that we were tipped off that any worker could eventually try to incorporate something else on the side [part-time remote job] and do both at once, appearing present on IM but half-assing two jobs). We decided that an office with a roaming/snooping manager was a necessity in our early testing stages.

From speaking with many people in that country, average wage is definitely lower than you might even think. Management is the way to earn better money over there in IT. Salaries, if they exist, for non-corporate staff are probably abysmal all over Manila. There will always be somebody willing to work for less, fresh out of university.