[2] The circle and its immediate area were destroyed by aerial bombs dropped in the Battle of Manila during World War II.

[8] Although Malate and Ermita were subsequently rebuilt, both districts suffered from significant urban decay as former residents began moving out for the suburbs,[7] and the area became a center for prostitution, vagrancy, and petty crime.

[2] In 1980, restaurateur Larry Cruz opened Café Adriatico at the corner of Remedios Circle and Adriatico Street, attracting other entrepreneurs who have been credited for not only reviving the circle but also for transforming it into the center of Manila's nightlife for much of the 1980s and 1990s:[9] an event which author Alfred "Krip" Yuson called a red-letter day in the cultural calendar of the Philippines.

[11] Government investment has focused largely on infrastructure improvements, with the circle last being renovated in 2006[2] and a bike lane connecting it to the Paraiso ng Batang Maynila opening in 2012.

In the scene, a Filipina woman, Marta, was being chased by two policemen from the Manila Police District until she reached a dead end: a narrow alleyway in a nearby slum.