This is the heartbreaking moment a newborn baby girl was found abandoned in foliage next to a riverbank in the Philippines.

The infant was heard crying by a motorcycle rider who stopped to rest in the shade under the trees in Laguna, the Philippines on October 16 afternoon.

Wilson Tubongbanua followed the sound until he noticed a plastic bag sealed with tape.

He opened the plastic with something moving inside and found the baby wrapped in a white towel.

The baby was struggling to breathe inside the plastic so he took her out while calling for help.

He said: ''At first, I thought my mind was playing tricks on me so I ignored it for a few minutes. But the crying became louder so I began searching where it was coming from.

''I could not believe my eyes when I saw the poor baby inside the plastic and she was still alive.''

A passing tricycle driver saw Wilson tending to the infant and rushed to call the police from a nearby village.

The officers arrived to collect the baby and took her to the Nagcarlan District Hospital where she was cleaned and given a health check-up.

Doctors said that the baby girl, with the umbilical cord still intact, was healthy and uninjured.

The police are now investigating to find the person who dumped the baby to the riverbanks.