Kidapawan City honors honest security guard

KIDAPAWAN CITY, North Cotabato, Philippines — A lowly paid security guard still paying for the medical bills of his daughter who died of cancer recently found cold cash at a roadside and returned it to its owner.

Emerold Obatay turned over to a local radio station the P15,200 cash he found at a roadside here last week.

And because of his honesty, the Kidapawan City government presented a plaque of recognition and asked him to go through the qualification process for a job as a blue guard in the local government.

Obatay, security guard of the Mercury Drug Store-Kidapawan branch, turned over the money to a church-run radio station so the real owner could claim it.

Obatay, who lost a daughter to cancer few weeks back, did not think twice when he found the bills scattered beside a road.

“Who doesn’t need money? I need money too but this is not mine and in no way it will become mine,” Obatay radio reporters, admitting that he was still paying debts incurred during his daughter’s medication.

“I badly need money, like anyone of us, but taking what is not mine is not right. I am poor but I have dignity and I am honest, I have to return it to its rightful owner and I have no way to know who the real owner was so I came over to your radio station,” Obatay said.

Convinced that what Obatay did was a very noble thing, City Councilor Gregory Yarra has sponsored a resolution to recognize Obatay’s good gesture.

“What he did was worth emulating, we should recognize his honesty,” Yarra said in sponsoring the resolution.

Summoned by the city council to appear and say something during regular SP session Thursday, Obatay told the legislators he was tempted at first to keep the money as nobody saw he found it.

“But the good thing in me prevailed so I decided to return the money. Besides, the owner deserved to have his or her hard earned money back,” Obatay said in between sobs.

“I am humbled by this recognition. I hope other Kidapawenios would do the same thing,” Obatay said.

Yarra said he would appeal to Mayor Joseph Evangelista to hire Obatay as a government worker.

“The amount involved was too small for a trader who owns it but the issue is the finder’s honesty, that is what we are recognizing,” Yarra said.

Aside from recognition, the city council also recommended to the mayor to give Obatay P15,000 in cash gift for his honesty, almost the same amount he found and returned.

Obatay also told the councilors that the real owner, a certain Mr. Porras, offered him reward money but he politely turned it down.

Related stories

The most honest man in the world

Clark airport guard returns $10,000 to Korean

Hard-up guard returns P500,000