A man from the Philippines experienced immense devastation when over $50,000 of his own money unexpectedly flew out of his backpack while driving down the freeway.

As other drivers found themselves in complete shock, believing it was their lucky day, the man, named John Mark Barrientos, understandably felt utterly crushed.

On Tuesday (4 July), Barrientos was cruising along the Cebu South Coastal Road in the Philippines when a substantial amount of cash suddenly escaped from his backpack.

While one might assume that Barrientos had carelessly left the back of his bag unzipped during his morning drive, the reality was that his bag decided to break at the worst possible moment.

During an interview with a local radio station, Barrientos, who works at an e-wallet loading kiosk in a mall, revealed that he only discovered the broken zipper when his money began flying out onto the freeway.

"I saw the money flying from the side mirror so I stopped to pick it up but then others were also collecting the money. Hopefully they return it," he said.

"I hope they will really return it, I don't have money to pay for it all," he added.

A video capturing the incident quickly went viral on social media, showcasing both helpful motorists assisting Barrientos in recovering his money and others discreetly pocketing some for themselves.

Additional videos circulating on Facebook depict officials carefully counting the retrieved cash to determine the total amount recovered.

The Mambaling Police Station has reported that at least three individuals have already returned some of the money, but around $18,000 is still unaccounted for.

Staff Sergeant Jonas Recaplaza of the police stated in a local radio interview that they are in contact with Barrientos, who has been advised to visit the police station and collect his money.

Recaplaza further mentioned that the police are actively searching for those who took some of the cash, and individuals who fail to willingly return the money could face legal consequences.

Police Colonel Ireneo Dalogdog, the City Director of the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO), provided remarks to the local media: "We will investigate so that we can identify those owners of the vehicles."

"There are faces that can be seen there, we can see them on the video that was uploaded."

"If whoever you are, if you are there on the video, then you did not volunteered to return the money that you picked up, please return it even if it is just to help the person who lost the money."