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.

A Philippine official expressed hope Thursday that the Asian Development Bank conference will show the Philippines is open for business.

Presidential spokesman Ricky Carandang also defended the wall's installation, saying "any country will do a little fixing up before a guest comes."

The Philippine Communist Party recalled that former first lady Imelda Marcos was ridiculed for trying to hide squatter colonies.