Plight of woman who crawled out of drain in Philippines sparks debate

A woman who was seen eerily crawling out of a storm drain in the Philippines has been found and got help from the government — her sad plight setting off a conversation about urban homelessness in one of South-east Asia's top growth performers.

- Raul Dancel

A woman who was seen eerily crawling out of a storm drain in the Philippines has been found and got help from the government – her sad plight setting off a conversation about urban homelessness in one of South-east Asia's top growth performers.

Acting on instructions from Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, a team from the Social Welfare Ministry managed to track down "Rose" at a slum district, and took her to a "processing centre" for "a thorough assessment and appropriate intervention".

Photos of Rose crawling out of a narrow drain at a busy street corner late on the afternoon of May 26 in Makati city – her dress and denim shorts caked in grime, and her hair streaked with dirt and dried leaves – have gone viral.

These images provoked both shock and amusement, with many drawing comparisons to a Japanese horror movie about a ghostly killer clawing her way out of a deep well.

But they also triggered heated discussions about homeless people living in a subterranean world beneath gleaming financial districts like Makati, in a nation that has seen growth averaging 5 per cent to 7 per cent annually.