MIAA commends honest pushcart retriever

The Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) reported that on 13 April, Victor Perez, a pushcart retriever of D'Frada, returned $10,000 USD that he had found on the floor near the east bridge of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 arrival extension.

MIAA General Manager Eric Jose Castro Ines expressed his appreciation for Victor Perez's honesty.

According to the airport authority, Perez, who works as a porter and pushcart retriever at NAIA, when he was retrieving some used pushcarts on the area, he noticed something on the pavement.

He immediately checked it, and he was surprised to find a bundle of US dollar bills bound together by a bank money binder.

Believing that the owner was surely looking for it, he went straight to the MIAA Lost and Found Division office to turn in the money he had found.

One hundred US dollar bills, or around PHP 565,735.00 at the current exchange rate, were found in the joint inventory.

A Korean national who had arrived that morning on an Asiana flight came back to claim the money around 2:15 p.m. on that same day.

He stated that it had dropped out of his pocket while he was walking down the ramp that led to the arrival extension area.

CCTV footage was reviewed, and it was determined that the Korean national was the true owner of the money.

MIAA said that Perez has been working at NAIA for 32 years, taking on different jobs, and for the last 10 years, he has worked as a porter and a pushcart retriever under the porterage concessionaire D'Frada at airport.

Albert Bautista, a security guard from Lockheed Security and Watchman Agency, showed another act of honesty on 14 April after he returned a backpack that he discovered at the Bay 7 arrival public area to the NAIA T3 Lost and Found Division.

On Tuesday morning of 16 April, the owner retrieved his bag, which contained a laptop, a smartphone, and a gold necklace.

"Hats off to Misters 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," said MIAA GM Eric Ines.

The airport chief has ordered the awarding of commendations to Perez and Bautista in MIAA's May flag-raising ceremony.