Scavengers urged: Return Tan’s other jewelry pieces

The family of businessman Vicente Tan, whose gold class ring was found by scavengers at the Umapad dumpsite, said they discovered they had lost more than what was reported to the police.

Inocencio dela Cerna, Tan’s lawyer, yesterday appealed to scavengers to return the rest of the jewelry.

He assured that the family would not file charges against them and would even given them a cash reward for returning the missing pieces.

“We are again promising that there’s no liability on their part. We are asking them to help us recover the missing items. It’s not the monetary consideration but it’s more of sentimental value,” Dela Cerna said.

The Tan family made an inventory of their valuables over the weekend when they checked Tan’s room.

But Dela Cerna could not not specify the missing jewelry pieces.

Tan’s bank passbook is also missing and may have been burned with the garbage when they cleaned up the room weeks ago.

Last Jan. 13, scavengers of the Umapad dumpsite in Mandaue City recovered gold and diamond jewelry.

Some of the items were sold or pawned.

Two men’s gold bracelets and two rings, including Tan’s graduation class ring, were turned over for safekeeping to Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes, who is required under the Civil Code to publicize the lost-and-found items for two weeks.

The mayor told the Tan family to wait until Feb. 4 for other claimants to surface.

Tan’s family wants to recover the valuables and filed an affidavit of claim and ownership.

“We are very confident that our claim will be validated,” said the lawyer.

Dela Cerna said they still have to locate receipts of the valuables and ask relatives and friends of 83-year-old Tan to execute affidavits to prove that he owns the valuables. Ador Vincent S. Mayol and Jhunnex Napallacan