LA TRINIDAD, Benguet, Jan. 7 PIA) — An honest farmer from Tublay, Benguet received an unexpected reward for returning the sling bag containing money and other documents he found and started the new year free of hospital debt.
The good deeds of Mando Alonzo, a farmer who returned more than P133, 000 cash was reciprocated with a reward from Police Regional Office – Cordillera (PRO-Cor) Regional Director Police Brigadier General R’win Pagkalinawan.
Last Christmas Day, Alonzo found a sling bag while passing through Baayan Road at Sitio Sayatan in Tublay. The bag contained a huge amount of money, and as he looked thoroughly inside the bag, he found IDs and the cellphone number of the owner was there.
He called the number and talked to the owner who identified himself as Roger Santiago. They agreed to meet at the Tublay Municipal Police Station for proper turnover of the found sling bag.
At the Tublay MPS, PMSgt Ronald Neil Bagta facilitated the turnover of the sling bag complete with its contents to the rightful owner who thanked Alonzo for his honesty without asking for anything in return.
Alonzo, a farmer and a jeepney driver traversing the Baguio-Pico, La Trinidad route, is among the many individuals in the informal sector whose livelihood were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. He helps his wife in cultivating sayote to sell in the market to make both ends meet.
In June 2020, Alonzo’s wife was hospitalized and underwent a gall bladder operation. Their health insurance, savings, and donations from different individuals fell short to cover their hospital bills, and Alonzo signed a promissory note that he would pay the remaining bills any time soon.
Despite his difficult financial situation, Alonzo’s innate honesty reigned choosing without hesitation to return the money he found to the owner.
Impressed and touched by his honesty, Pagkalinawan offered to pay the remaining hospital bill of Alonzon’s wife amounting to P37,740.00 from his personal pocket.
On January 4, 2021, personnel of Tublay MPS fetched Alonzo at their house in Barangay Ba-ayan, Tublay and accompanied him to settle said hospital bills at the Benguet General Hospital.
Alonzo expressed his gratitude for the unexpected blessing. He said he only did what was right and that financial difficulty is not a reason to keep what is not rightfully his. **JDP/RMC-PIA CAR with reports from PROCOR RPIO