Manila airport workers return $10,000 cash, gold
Acts of honesty: US dollar bills found on the pavement, bag with jewellery handed over
Manila: Two workers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) here were honoured for their remarkable acts of honesty after one surrendered $10,000 in cash he found in an arrival bridge, and another handed over a bag with personal belongings and gold jewellery to airport authorities.
The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) commended porter Victor Perez and security guard Albert Bautista for their noble act.
Both were recently honoured by the authority for their honesty.
Victor Perez, a 52-year-old with a 32-year tenure at the airport, discovered a bundle of US dollar bills on the pavement of NAIA Terminal 1’s east bridge arrival extension on Saturday (April 13, 2024).
Lost-and-found
MIAA stated that Perez handed over the money to the “Lost and Found” section in no time. The office determined the amount to be $10,000 (valued at about 572,670 pesos) and identified the owner as a Korean visitor through CCTV footage.
The visitor stated that the cash “fell out of his pocket while he was going down the ramp”, and the amount was returned in full later that same day.
Gold jewellery
In a separate incident, Albert Bautista of Lanting Security Services found a lost bag at the airport’s Bay 7 the following day.
The bag contained a laptop, smartphone, and a gold necklace.
He handed the items over to Terminal 3’s Lost and Found office, and they were claimed on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
MIAA General Manager Eric Ines expressed his delight with the outcomes of these incidents, praising the employees as role models. “Hats off to Messrs. Victor Perez and Albert Bautista for their honesty. Both should be emulated by everyone at NAIA. Let the culture of honesty thrive amidst the endless temptations around us,” he stated.