A young woman was seen crawling out of a storm drain on a street in the Philippines, startling passersby and triggering a wave of viral reactions online due to the eerie resemblance to a horror movie scene.
A surreal scene unfolds in rush hour
According to the street photographer named William, the incident took place around 5pm on May 26 at a street corner in Makati City, Manila’s central business district.
Clad in a dirty dress and denim shorts, the woman emerged from a wide storm drain with tangled, dirt-streaked hair, catching the attention of pedestrians and motorists nearby.
William, who uses the handle @iammrthirty on Instagram, captured the surreal moment.
His photos show the woman smiling at him before running off, closely followed by a man in a military-style uniform.
Stunned onlookers and viral impact
William said that the bizarre sight left everyone momentarily frozen.
She ran past me, the military guy in pursuit. A few pedestrians, motorcyclists, and even the traffic enforcer just stood there—stunned, confused, maybe even a little amused,” she wrote.
The photos quickly gained traction after local news outlet GMA News shared them.
Across Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook, the images have amassed nearly two million views in just days.
Drain reveals hidden realities
William later revisited the scene and found that local officials had begun repaving the area.
According to The Straits Times, the local officials admitted they had no idea where the large pipe beneath the catch basin led.
He described the canal as unusually large — “almost as big as some rental rooms in the city” — with a pipe at the bottom seemingly wide enough for a person to crawl through.
Part of an invisible community
City officials speculated that the woman could be among the many vagrants who find shelter in the sewer systems and underground channels across the city.
Such individuals often go unnoticed, hidden behind the façade of Makati’s sleek skyscrapers and commercial bustle.
William reflected on the incident as more than just a shocking visual. “These streets carry stories we rarely acknowledge. There are people literally living in the cracks of this city,” he said.
Now under Department of Social Welfare and Development
In an official statement, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) confirmed that the woman, identified only as “Bibe,” had arrived at their Pag-abot Processing Center in Pasay City on Thursday morning.
DSWD personnel located and interviewed her following the incident.
She is now under the care of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
At the processing center, she will undergo a thorough assessment and appropriate intervention by the DSWD, based on her situation and needs,” the statement read.
The department added that their actions were in line with a directive from President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., who ordered that comprehensive support be extended to Bibe to prevent her from returning to the streets.
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