A PORTER and a security guard working at the country’s premier airport terminal were highly commended by Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Eric Ines for their display of honesty when they returned cash and valuables that they found, respectively, which were left behind by passengers.
Ines has ordered the awarding of commendation to the said employees in the MIAA’s flag raising ceremony in May.
Ines cited Victor Perez, 52, a porter in NAIA for 32 years already, after he returned USD10,000 in cash which he found on the floor at the east bridge of the NAIA Terminal 1 arrival extension on April 13, 2024.
Reportedly, Perez was walking along the mentioned area to retrieve used pushcarts when he noticed something on the pavement. When he went to check, he was surprised to find a bundle of US dollar bills bound together by a bank money binder.
Perez wasted no time and immediately looked for the lost and found office to turn over the huge amount of money that he found, believing that the owner will certainly look for it.
The joint inventory yielded 100 pieces of one hundred US dollar bills approximately amounting to P565,735.00 based on the prevailing exchange rate.
At around 2:15 p.m. of the same day, a 60-year-old Korean national who arrived via Asiana flight that morning, came to the airport to claim the money which according to him fell out of his pocket while he was going down the ramp leading to the arrival extension area.
A review of CCTV footage confirmed the identity of the Korean national as the rightful owner of the money.
Ines said Victor Perez has dedicated 32 years in NAIA taking on different jobs and for the past ten years had been working as a porter/pushcart retriever under a porterage concessionaire in NAIA.
Meanwhile, Ines also lauded another act of honesty that was shown by Albert Bautista, a security guard of Lockheed Security Services, when he turned over a bag he found at Bay 7 of the arrival area while on patrol last April 14.
Said bag contained a laptop, smartphone and a gold necklace which was surrendered to the T3 lost and found office. The valuables were claimed by the owner two days later.
“Hats off to Messrs Victor Perez and Albert Bautista for their honesty. Both should be emulated by everyone in NAIA. Let the culture of honesty thrive in the midst of endless temptations around us,” Ines said.
