THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) commended one of its officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for returning a bag containing P90,000 cash left by a passenger in front of her booth.

Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco named the officer as Olivia Ivory Ojeda, who was lauded for her honesty in reporting to her superiors the large amount of money she found while on duty.

Tansingco said Ojeda was inside her booth conducting immigration formalities for passengers at the arrival area of NAIA Terminal 1 last January 4 when she noticed a bag on top of her counter.

The bag, which contained almost P90,000, was left by a passenger who seemed to have lined up and was processed in Ojeda’s counter.

Upon seeing the bag, Ojeda immediately reported the matter to Ferdinand Tendenilla, the BI supervisor on-duty, who then instructed her to look for the owner among the passengers who were crowding in the airport’s baggage conveyor.

Ojeda, however, despite due diligence was unable to locate or identify the passenger who owns the pouch. Tendenilla later instructed Ojeda to just surrender the money to the NAIA’s lost and found unit.

According to Tansingco, the incident only proves that there are still a lot of honest and upright immigration personnel discharging their duties as gatekeepers of the country.

“Employees like them serve as a source of inspiration to our rank-and-file as they enhance the reputation and prestige of our bureau,” Tansingco said.

AUTHOR PROFILE

Jun I. Legaspi