A namesake of former Commission on Elections chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr. working at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport returned a bag containing money worth P430,000 to a Turkish air traveler.
Sixto O. Brillante Jr., an airport cleaner of Manila Allied Management Service Cooperative, was mopping the floor at the immigration area of NAIA Terminal 1 on Aug. 10 when a passenger called his attention to inform him about a black sling bag left behind by another passenger.
Brillante immediately coordinated with his partner assigned at the female comfort room to help him locate the owner through the paging system then turned over the bag to the Lost and Found Section of the Intelligence and Investigation Division.
IID personnel found 7,300 euros inside two white envelopes in the bag. In Philippine currency, the total amount would reach some P430,000. A wallet and an Ipad gadget were also inside the bag.
Hours later, a Turkish air traveler came and found to be the rightful owner of the bag. The passenger, however, requested anonymity for purposes other than the official report.
Manila International Airport Authority general manager Eddie Monreal commended Brillante for his honesty.
“Mr. Brillante could have easily kept the bag and favorably benefitted from what’s inside it, but he chose to surrender it. I admire him for his integrity. Hearing stories like this makes us Filipinos proud,” said Monreal.
In just one month, more than six airport workers have been praised by the MIAA management for their honesty at the airport, returning missing and lost personal belongings of passengers, mostly foreigners.
Monreal encourages airport workers to always practice the virtue of honesty in any situation that may call for it.
“Doing good should never be an option. It must be a way of life for all of us,” he said.