Around 50 firetrucks, including the Camp Crame-based firemen, responded to the fire assistance flashed by the Bureau of Fire and Protection Office.
There were no fatalities, but several residents suffered minor injuries.
One of the victims, Maria Luisa Noynay, 28, appealed to local officials to help them find a temporary relocation area.
The fire gutted some 25 to 30 old houses, mostly made of wood.
"We hope to get assistance in the form of temporary shelter and old clothes," Noynay said.
Her sister-in-law, who asked not to be named, said she and her family have been living in the area for the past 45 years. Their two-storey house was among the first destroyed by the fire that started at around 11:45 a.m. yesterday.
"We were watching television and about to have lunch when the fire broke out," she said.
When the fire broke out, the two women scampered to safety along with the two children in the house. "We were not able to save any of our belongings," she said.
Other victims, some in tears, lined up across the Santolan Road near the Philippine National Police headquarters.
Witnesses said the fire started at a house on 1st street in Barangay Lipunan.
Mostly of the residents also lost their means of livelihood. Affected establishments included a water purifying store, a small drugstore, a bakery, some food stalls and a number of roadside eateries.
Some 50 firetrucks blocked the stretch of Santolan Road, but they had difficulty in putting out the blaze because of the narrow streets leading to the other houses.
Traffic policemen diverted the traffic from EDSA and Ortigas Avenue extension to secondary roads.— With Katherine Adraneda