THE Office of the Ombudsman on Monday recognized 21 Filipinos in its Honesty, Integrity and Public Accountability Awards as part of the celebration of International Anti-Corruption Day.
“This year’s batch of awardees have displayed exemplary acts,” it said in a statement.
Nine of them received their awards on Monday in Quezon City.
Among them was tricycle driver Wilfredo Pascual Jr. of Laoag City, who had returned a bag that contained P170,000 to its owner.
Awardee Rosalinda Celero, a cleaner at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 in Pasay, found a pair of socks that contained dollars worth about P1 million at the departure area in June 2024. Celero brought the socks — and the dollars — to the lost and found section of the terminal.
The awardees also included Olivia Ivory Ojeda and Jay Manansala, both of the Bureau of Immigration.
The Office of the Ombudsman said Ojeda earlier this year had found a bag that contained about P90,000 atop her counter at NAIA Terminal 1 in Pasay and reported it to her superiors.
Meanwhile, Manansala refused a P50,000 “bribe” in 2023 while at Clark International Airport in Pampanga.
Also among the awardees were Police Lt. Rodolfo Calma Jr., Chief Master Sergeant Jesus Chito Manaois, Senior Master Sergeant Ladislao Constantino Jr., and Senior Master Sergeant Marcial Marquez of the Quezon City Police District’s District Tactical Motorized Unit. Earlier in 2024, the four had found a plastic bag that contained P30,000 and an identification card at Balintawak. With their efforts, the money was returned to its owner.
Lt. Col. Von Alejandrino, chief of the QCPD DTMU, accepted the award for Manaois on Monday.
Of the 21 awardees, six were from Metro Manila, another six were from provinces in Luzon, two were from the Visayas, and six others — including teacher Melanie Figueroa, whose projects had supported students — were from Mindanao.
Figueroa was among the nine people who received their award on Monday in Quezon City.
Other awardees included Troy Peya Chumapoy and Christopher Sigua, both from the Mountain Province, who, when they were Grade 8 and 9 students, had returned a wallet to its owner.
Another awardee was Wilfredo Campos of Baguio City, who returned a wallet he found in his taxi.
Also among the awardees were Rodney Visperas and Amani Sarip, who, in 2022, while they were mall employees, had returned a bag that contained P60,000 to its owner.
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