Police trace jewelry to 83-year-old businessman

The jewelry pieces found by scavengers in the Umapad dumpsite in Mandaue City appear to be owned by a well-to-do elderly Chinese-Cebuano businessman.

The family of Vicente Tan, 83, who owns Chikito Bazaar in downtown Cebu City, told police yesterday the valuables were accidentally thrown out with the trash when they disposed of Tan’s termite-ridden belongings, including a box that contained several pieces of gold jewelry.

“They need to show proof,” said Sr. Supt. Noel Gillamac, Mandaue City police chief.

Police visited Tan’s house yesterday after tracing his identity from a University of San Carlos Class 1952 bronze class ring that was recovered from scavengers. Tan’s name was engraved on it.

The family’s lawyer Inocencio dela Cerna said he would file a formal claim with the police station today and try to recover the rest of the missing jewelry.

The initial value of the lost and found jewelry was estimated by police at P2 million but this has yet to be verified in an inventory based on proof of ownership.

Several pieces were quickly sold or pawned by scavengers after discovering them in a sack of discards dumped by a barangay Cabangcalan garbage truck last Jan. 12, Thursday.

By the time police were called in by barangay officials, who were tipped off by grapevine accounts, all that was left were two gold bracelets, two gold rings and a gold-and-diamond necklace. Two out of three scavengers who admitted finding jewelry in the dumpsite turned them over along with cash from remaining proceeds from a pawnshop loan and a sale.

“The class ring was found with the name of my client. We already have a certification from the University of San Carlos that he graduated from the school that year. Now we are just trying to secure other documents to support our claim,” said Dela Cerna.

When police first phoned Tan at home, his wife only confirmed the Class 1952 ring was his but denied losing any other jewelry. But when the police returned again yesterday, a daughter explained that her elderly parents had actually lost more jewelry but didn’t realize it until later.

Dela Cerna said his clients didn’t even know the jewelry was missing until they heard news reports about the windfall in the dumpsite.

“Maybe when they were cleaning, they they didn’t realize that jewelry was included in the things thrown out. They may have not noticed because of their old age,” he said.

He said he advised his clients not to press charges against the scavengers and instead to thank them by letting them keep the P36,500 and P16,000 cash proceeds left over from the pawning of the jewelry.

“If the scavengers hadn’t found the jewelry, we wouldn’t have known it was gone. We should, in fact, even thank them,” said the lawyer.

Tan’s family owns Chikito Bazaar in downtown Cebu City and Inday’s Dried Mangoes in Mandaue City.

According to the lawyer, Tan didn’t know at first the jewelry was missing because his wife and children were the ones who cleaned up his room in the upper floor.

Tan, who is 83 years old, suffered memory lapses after an accident at home where he fell from a ladder. Since then, he occupies a room in the ground floor.

Family members who found some belongings eaten by termites transferred several boxes downstairs and burned some of them. The rest were put in sacks and collected by the barangay garbage truck.

According to the lawyer, Tan had kept the jewelry in a box in his room, which no one was allowed to enter without his permission.

Gillamac said the police will turn over the jewelry to Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes in line with Civil Code rules about lost and found articles that are not claimed by the owner.

Three lucky scavengers

FOR three lucky scavengers, finding gold jewelry in the Umapad dumpsite last week was a windfall.

They quickly sold it to buy household needs, shared some of the cash with neighbors and called friends for a night of drinking.

If there were other scavengers who found similar treasure, they aren’t saying.

The discovery reached the attention of Cabancalan barangay captain Martin Cosido, who sought the help of police on Jan. 17.

Insp. Ramil Morpos of the Theft and Robbery Section and his men located the scavengers.

Under investigation, the scavengers turned over what items and cash were left.

Rodrigo Corta, 55, returned one gold bracelet, one gold necklace with a pendant, two gold rings and an Official Receipt from the Henry Lhuillier Pawnshop and Jeweller for a gold bracelet pawned through his friend Bernardo Baylon. Corta also turned over P36,500, which was the cash remaining from the P127,000 he secured from the pawnshop.

His overjoyed wife earlier went to the Sto. Niño Basilica in Cebu City to light a candle and offer prayer of thanksgiving when the bounty was found.

He said he shared P16,000 with Baylon, a scrap buyer, bought lumber and materials for the repair of his house in sitio Tambis, barangay Umapad, helped pay for a neighbor’s hospitalization and gave away P500 bills and bags of rice to fellow scavengers.

(His friend’s P16,000 share was also turned over to the police.)

Antonio Quizon, 48, turned over one gold bracelet with diamond-like stones.

Eda Montecalvo, 24, of sitio Sto. Niño, barangay Paknaan, said she found one gold bracelet but already sold it for P15,000.

Finders are not keepers

LOST and found valuables that are unclaimed by their owner have to be turned over to the mayor, said Cebu Regional Trial Court Judge Meinrado Paredes.

Otherwise, the finder could be charged with theft.

Paredes said the finder could later claim 10 percent of the value of the item if the owner comes forward.

He was referring to provisions of the Civil Code of the Philippines in Article 719 and 720.

Article 719 says, “Whoever finds a moveable, which is not (hidden) treasure, must return it to its previous possessor. If the latter is unknown, the finder shall immediately deposit it with the mayor of the city or municipality where the finding has taken place.”

The mayor has to publicly announce the finding for two consecutive weeks.

After six months, if no owner comes forward to claim the item, “its values shall be awarded to the finder.”

But “if the owner should appear in time, he shall be obliged to pay, as a reward to the finder, one-tenth of the sum or of the price of the thing found” according to Article 720.

The mayor can also sell the goods at public auction if it is perishable or will diminish in value during long storage. With Fe Marie Dumaboc , Reporter Ador Mayor and Correspondent Norman Mendoza