Oh wow! There are really a lot of stray cats in my country the Philippines. Since a lot of cat owners really don't neuter their cats so they keep on having kitties that's why some are just thrown away they are lucky if they are taken by cat lovers if not we'll they just end up begging for food just like the ones you've seen.
Strays are pretty much everywhere due to lack of responsible owners and lack of government programs for them. It’s sad. I think people are slowly getting educated tho as there’s group of shelters in social media telling people to spay/neuter and also to let them be aware what happens if they don’t. There are free and low cost spaying/neutering as well which is nice but it only happens a few times a year.