MANILA — Three members of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Road Emergency Group were cited for honesty after returning a sling bag containing USD79,500 to a road accident victim in Taguig City on Tuesday.
MMDA rescue personnel Mariel Bacho, Kristopher Concepcion, and Sheena Santillan did not think twice about surrendering the bag containing bundles of US dollars — equivalent to more than PHP4 million — to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City, where victim Thomas Dichavez was rushed.
It was at 3:59 a.m. when the team responded to a road accident involving a sports utility vehicle and a truck that happened along C5 Road-southbound in Taguig City.
Upon arrival, Bacho said they found Dichavez inside a Mitsubishi Montero in an inclined position and immediately pulled him out of the damaged vehicle.
Dichavez was conscious but could not speak clearly, said Bacho.
When looking for the victim’s identification card, a bystander who first responded at the accident scene handed them a sling bag, which was found inside the victim’s vehicle.
The team immediately secured the victim’s belongings and rushed him to the hospital.
Bacho said it was only at the hospital when they learned the worth of the belongings.
The bag was turned over to the security personnel of the hospital to make sure it is returned to the owner.
Bacho said it was not the first time they returned valuables to road accident victims. It is part of the MMDA road emergency personnel’s training to return recovered items from accident scenes, he added.
“When we saw the bundles of US dollars inside the bag, it never crossed our mind to take it. We are also thankful to the male bystander who found the bag inside the vehicle,” Bacho said.
MMDA Chairman Danilo Lim, upon hearing the report, lauded the road emergency personnel for their actions.
“We commend our employees for displaying an act of honesty. It is indeed worthy of emulation,” Lim said. (MMDA PR/PNA)
