Manila authorities today are searching for a foreign tourist they believe pooped into an empty planter at the popular Intramuros heritage site.
The search was launched on order of Mayor Isko Moreno, who raised alarms online after a student said he caught the cheeky vandal in the act. A photo shows the unidentified man on the 400-year-old historic wall relaxing bare-assed but not embarrassed like it was a totally dignified, normal thing to do.
“This is the crazy man who went viral in Intramuros who was possibly pooping,” Moreno wrote. “We are asking for your help so we can catch this violator.”
Moreno said the man committed what the law considers a “grave scandal,” a crime that calls for up to six months in prison.
Dos Alvarado, the student who photographed the man, said he witnessed the disturbing defecation at precisely 11:09am on Sunday, the Manila Bulletin reported.
“Checking from our view I saw someone sitting, then we were alarmed, then I snapped photos from my DSLR camera,” Alvarado said. The man, he alleged, proceeded to clean his anus with his bare hands (yikes). The man was with other people believed to be tourists.
Read: Boracay shoreline closed due to viral pooping incident; workers hunt for soiled diaper
But, that’s where the story pinches and twists.
Intramuros’ management team said a thorough search turned up no offending droppings, leading to questions of whether it was a matter of fecal fraud or fact.
“NO waste in the area, contrary to what is thought to be insinuated in the photo,” the statement said.
The authorities are unconvinced and said they’re still seeking the foreigner.
Left (mostly) unsaid was that it involved the latest instance of unhappiness over behavior attributed to visitors from China. Late last week it was photos showing several men urinating in public on Ayala Avenue that went viral. The men were said to be Chinese nationals, and as expected the post drew condemnation from netizens, many of whom seemed to forget how often Filipino men do the same. #JustSaying
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