An abandoned newborn baby was found naked and covered in insect bites in an empty car park in the Philippines.

The hapless girl was heard crying by a motorcycle rider walking by the empty lot in the town of Pajo in Lapu-Lapu City, Cebu province on July 23 afternoon.

The man approached the plastic sack lying in the bushes and found the infant inside with its umbilical cord still attached. The child was filthy and naked, her tiny back peppered with wounds from ant and mosquito bites.

The shocked driver quickly reported the discovery to town officials and the police, who rushed the baby to the Lapu-Lapu City Hospital for an emergency check up.

Doctors said the newborn was estimated to be only five days old. Nurses bathed her and patched up her wounds while monitoring her condition.

Pajo Barangay Captain Lyndel Bullos said in an update on July 25 that the girl is now looking better and is 'more responsive,' but will still need to undergo a tuberculosis test and blood culture. She will be turned over to the City Social Welfare and Development Office after being discharged.

Meanwhile, police are now searching for the foundling's missing mother by checking security cameras in the area.

Lyndel said: 'Officers are interviewing the residents to ask about any women who were recently pregnant.'

In its 2022 State of World Population Report, the United Nations Population Fund said the Philippines ranks 56 out of 150 countries in terms of unintended pregnancies, with 51 per cent of all pregnancies in the country unplanned.

As a devout catholic country, abortions are illegal and contraception is discouraged.