MANILA, Philippines—Fifteen employees of Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia) received commendations and certificates of recognition on Tuesday for showing honesty and exemplary service, mainly by turning over to the lost and found section various items left behind by passengers or facilitating their return to the owners.
The honors were given in simple rites marking the 32nd anniversary of the Manila International Airport Authority (Miaa), the government operator of the four Naia terminals.
“For their honesty, dedication and exemplary performance, these airport employees are the pride of the Miaa. This recognition leaves the legacy of a positive culture not only reflective of Naia but also of the country and its people,” Miaa General Manager Jose Angel Honrado said.
The honorees included 10 Naia employees and five members of the MIAA airport police department (APD):
— Buen Buenconsejo, a building attendant at Naia Terminal 4 who turned over to the lost-and-found section an iPod she found at the check-in area toilet on Jan. 9.
— Moses Jimenez, a pushcart retriever who turned over a Canon EOS 1000D Camera, camera cover and SD memory card found on a pushcart at the arrival customs area at Terminal 1 on Jan. 11.
— Antonio Luna Jr., a pushcart retriever who returned a bag containing an Asus laptop, computer peripherals and P500 in cash that he found at the Terminal 3 departure lobby on Jan. 15.
— Jeffrie Leary, a pushcart retriever who found a Samsung tablet computer at the arrival extension bridge of Terminal 1 on Jan. 16.
— John Paul Adonis Tolosa, a pushcart retriever who found an Asus laptop on a pushcart at the Terminal 1 arrival extension on Jan. 17, and a South Korean passport and two immigration receipts at the arrival conveyor area on Dec. 29 last year.
— Jemwell Garcia, a pushcart retriever who turned over a brown envelope containing $2,000 found at the entrance of the Terminal 3 departure area on Jan. 17.
— Chiquito Morales, a driver of Sunshine Transport taxi who turned over a Samsung Duos phone found inside his cab on Feb. 1.
— Rodolfo Bernal Jr., a pushcart retriever at Terminal 1 who found an envelope containing a passport, 2,400 Australian dollars, an HSBC online security device and assorted documents at the arrival area on Feb. 5.
— Henry Calma, a member of Advance Forces Security and Investigation Services, who returned a black backpack containing a Galaxy tablet, an iPad, a Macbook Pro and other personal items found at the arrival extension area at Terminal 1 on Jan. 31.
— Reneel Sison, a collection teller who returned a black clutch bag containing a gold necklace, keys and cash amounting to P150,000 that he found at the Terminal 3 southwing predeparture gate on Dec. 5 last year.
— APD member Rodolfo Bulusan Jr., who accompanied two Swedish tourists to the police station at Terminal 4 to report that they had left a shoulder bag on a shuttle bus on their way from Terminal 1 to 3 on Jan. 29. A radio alert was sent to all security checkpoints in the vicinity of Naia and this led to the location of the bus and the recovery of the bag.
— APD members Roderick Mejia, Danilo Inalvez, Elino Portacio and Michael Teofilo, who tracked down the wallet of a departing Canadian tourist, who claimed it was stolen by the driver of the cab he took to Terminal 3 on Jan. 23. The policemen found the cab at the driver’s residence in Valenzuela City the following morning and the wallet—containing 500 Canadian dollars, P6,500, credit cards and IDs—was returned to the tourist.
Other employees were recognized in earlier ceremonies, among them Jony Villon, also a pushcart retriever, who returned $4,800 in cash that he found inside an envelope left by a seaman’s wife at Terminal 1 on Jan. 29.
Andro Laxina, supervisor of the airport porterage section at Terminal 1, then said: “Returning lost items is a standard operating procedure for us. It’s a normal thing to do. We always tell our porters to do the right thing.”