A video capturing the heavy foot traffic at the Caloocan-Monumento crossing has logged in millions of views on Facebook.
Playfully captioned “Just got home from Shibuya Japan,” the video went viral, with people dubbing the place as the “Shibuya Crossing of the Philippines.” It currently has 2.7 million views on Facebook.
The video shows hundreds of people traversing the road, crossing from both sides and flooding the entire pedestrian lane with people hurriedly walking, which is kind of similar to Tokyo’s busiest intersection, the Shibuya Scramble Crossing, or more commonly referred to as Shibuya Crossing.
Monumento Circle, which serves as a hub for Rizal Avenue Extension, Samson Road, and MacArthur Highway, is an interchange for bus and jeepney routes connecting the adjacent cities of Navotas, Malabon, Caloocan, Valenzuela, and Manila. The intersection causes a few minutes of blockage for vehicles going north and southbound.
The video, which was first posted on November 10, now has more than 40 thousand shares across the social media platform. One commented, “Di ko pala need pumunta ng Japan [I apparently don’t need to go to Japan].”
“Walang tigil tao diyan (There is no shortage of people there),” one user commented.
“Lalayo pa kayo! Pumunta na lang kayo ng Monumento! [Why go far when you can just go to Monumento!]” joked another user with the hashtag #itsmorefuninthephilippines
Another user also compared the intersection to New York’s Times Square which is one of the busiest pedestrian crossings in the United States.
On the other hand, some users shared their unpleasant experiences crossing the intersection.
“Yung tawiran na hindi ka safe kase kundi manyakol ang makaka salubong mo, mandurukot naman. nun nag aaral pa ako natuto ako maging alisto sa kalsada mang gagaling ako malabon dadaan ng letre talamak ang snatcher sangandaan snatcher pa rin pagdating munumento manyakis at snatcher pa rin. Thanks God hindi ako pinabayaan kaya ngayon may anak na ako todo todo pag aalala ko at paghingi pa rin ng gabay para sa kanila. Sana all (is) Safe in God’s protection [This is the crossing where you are unsafe, because you are either going to bump into perverts or pickpockets. When I was still a student, I learned to become alert on the streets especially when passing through Malabon, Letre, Sangandaan, and Monumento which were crawling with snatchers. Thank God, He kept me safe and now that I have children, I constantly worry and pray for guidance. I hope everyone is safe under God’s protection],” a social media user stated.
Other POP! stories that you might like:
‘Marriage is a piece of paper’: Diego Loyzaga’s recent statement sparks discussion among Filipinos
Pet parents need to understand that not everyone is fond of animals in public places
‘Rizz’ becomes the 2023 Word of the Year, thanks to Tom Holland memes
Woman wins $187M in lottery, ditches family after they became ‘demanding and greedy’
