It is difficult to be poor. The cry for help cannot be heard in difficult situation in which it continues to haunt the decision of the poor to challenge the crooked system. In the blanket of social issues, it is undeniable that it brings great hardship to ordinary Filipinos. These social issues are not only obvious in the society, but can also be seen in various literary works. Thus, a literary analysis was conducted on one of Efren R. Abueg's short stories entitled "Ang Mabangis na Lungsod." Using qualitative content analysis, this paper aimed at determining the social issues reflected in the literary work. In addition, various elements of the work such as theme, character, conflict, and symbolism were also analyzed to fully grasp the content of the piece that reflects the social issues emphasized by the author using these elements. The results of the analyses showed that the social issues prevalent in Philippine society that are reflected in the work are violence, discrimination, poverty and hunger, parental neglect, and lies. Meanwhile, the analyzed elements of the work show the various results of these social issues, especially to the poor. From this, it can truly be said that literary works possesses blatant truths about society. Therefore, it is recommended that there should be more analyses of other literary pieces to further reveal the social issues that greatly affect Philippine society written by writers so that the people and the government can be awakened to the real problem.