MANILA — The Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, over the weekend, recognized a team of airport police staff for returning a bag with PHP1.5 million, which was left by a passenger at the Puerto Princesa International Airport.
CAAP Director General Jim Sydiongco went to Palawan to personally hand the certificates to the awardees.
On July 31, PO3 Mark Briones, a K9 handler of the PNP-Aviation Security Unit, found a bag at the airport’s arrival area. The bag contained a brown envelope with PHP1.5 million cash.
An ID was also found inside the bag, enabling authorities to track the owner, Danilo Dequito, who traveled from Manila to Puerto Princesa. After verifying Dequito’s identity, authorities returned the bag to its owner.
Aside from Briones, the other awardees who were instrumental in the swift recovery and return of the bag were airport security assistant Jel Anthony Cervantes, PO1 Anabelle Guimbongan, PO2 Leoniliza Bautista, PO2 Job Arkhe Sancho III, and security guards Jovani Yumen and Edgar Conde.
“Let us prove (the public) that all the CAAP employees are honest and trustworthy,” Sydiongco told the awardees.
CAAP spokesperson Eric Apolonio earlier told the Philippine News Agency (PNA) that this was not the first time CAAP personnel found and returned a passenger’s valuables.
Apolonio said in 2014, a female janitor assigned at the Iloilo International Airport surrendered a handbag containing valuables, which she found under a chair in the departure area.
He added that the handbag contained foreign currencies and a laptop, which in total could be worth more than PHP1.5 million.
Meanwhile, earlier this week, the Manila International Airport Authority also recognized a team of airport police officers for being able to track an abusive taxi driver and recover a passenger’s valuables that the driver had stolen and pawned. (Ma. Cristina Arayata/PNA)
