Sixto Brillante Jr., an airport cleaner of Manila Allied Management Service Cooperative, working at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), returned a bag containing valuables amounting to almost PHP 500,000 to a Turkish national.
A namesake of former Commission on Elections (COMELEC) chairman Sixto Brillantes Jr., this honest janitor is from Abra Province in the Cordillera region.
According to Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) general manager Ed Monreal, Brillante was cleaning the floor of the comfort room near the immigration arrival area of NAIA Terminal 1 on August 10 when he saw the black sling bag that was allegedly left by another passenger.
Brillante called the owner of the bag through the public address paging system but still could not find the owner so he decided to turn over the found bag containing €7,300 or P430,000, iPad and wallet in the Lost and Found Section of the Intelligence and Investigation Division (IID) of the MIAA.
Hours later, a Turkish passenger searched for his missing sling black bag, and after thorough verification, the IID-MIAA returned the bag to the passenger.
"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 make us Filipinos proud," said Monreal.
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 added.
Brillante was given a reward of €50 (about P3,000) by the air traveler who requested anonymity for purposes other than the official report.
