April 20, 2024, Pasay City – Another commendable act of honesty was showcased by another porter from D'Frada Porterage Services after surrendering to the MIAA lost and found section a black pouch that he found in NAIA Terminal 3.
Irwin Rommel Diana, while retrieving used pushcarts between Bays 5 and 6 of the arrival curbside, discovered a black pouch lying on the floor. During turnover, the inventory yielded 70 pieces of $100 bills, totaling approximately PHP 400,000.
The incident occurred at 6:49 AM yesterday, and without hesitation, Mr. Diana proceeded directly to the T3 Lost and Found section to surrender what he found. His swift action resulted in the timely recovery by the owner of his pouch after positively naming its contents. The owner, a traveler holding an American passport, regained custody of his pouch less than an hour after it was found by Mr. Diana.
Diana, who is 35 years old, is a resident of Pasay City and has been working at NAIA for 14 years as a porter.
When asked what reminder he can give to his peers and other airport workers in general, Mr. Diana put out a simple but important message: “Basta kung hindi niyo naman po pinaghirapan or hindi po sa inyo ibalik po natin kung kanino po dapat."
Very recently, on April 13, another porter from the same porterage company, Mr. Victor Perez, returned 100 pieces of 100 US dollar bills under similar circumstances. In recognition of their honorable actions, the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA) will formally commend the two porters during the May flag-raising ceremony.
MIAA General Manager Eric Ines only has good words for the two, stating that not everyone can withstand the tempting opportunities that Messrs. Diana and Perez have been through.
"Bilang Pilipino, nakaka proud na pinili nila na gawin ang tama. In their line of work, mahirap magpakatatag lalo kapag ikaw ay hirap sa buhay," GM Ines said.
Indeed, the culture of honesty is very much alive among airport workers, GM Ines stated in closing.