Honesty: A cabbie’s way of life

Anselmo Nava stands next to the taxi unit that he drives in Iloilo. He has been hailed for returning a bag containing P300,000 in euros to its owner and received P10,000 in reward which, he said, he used on food for the holidays. NESTOR P. BURGOS / INQUIRER VISAYAS

Taxi driver Anselmo Nava is a source of pride for his family.

Anselmo, 53, has become a celebrity in this city for returning to its owner a bag containing P300,000 in euros, which is an amount he would toil for three years to earn.

He usually earns P200-P500 for each 24-hour shift four times weekly, or P3,200 to P8,000 a month.

The P300,000 could have helped him, his wife Mary Ann and their sons Christian Paul, 17, and Peter Joseph, 15, make ends meet which is a daily struggle with the family’s meager income.

Anselmo’s wife tries to help fill the wide income gap by selling pork barbecue at their home in Barangay Concepcion, Iloilo City. But even that is not enough.

Anselmo has no regrets.

“It (money) was not mine. Money are mere decorations. What is important is who we are as human beings,” he said, speaking in Hiligaynon.

“I told my children that it does not matter if we are poor as long as we do not harm anyone,” he said.

Anselmo picked up the bag’s owner, overseas Filipino worker Jake Mark Nieves, at the Iloilo International Airport in Cabatuan town in Iloilo around 8 a.m. on Dec. 18.

Nieves asked Anselmo to bring him home to Miag-ao town in Iloilo, about 40 kilometers south of Iloilo City.

Nieves put three pieces of luggage at the taxicab’s baggage compartment and his backpack in the backseat behind the driver’s seat.

When they got to Miag-ao, Nieves, who sat next to Anselmo in the cab, immediately went inside his house while Anselmo unloaded the luggage from the car compartment before returning to Iloilo City.

Anselmo was already in Oton town, 7 km from Iloilo City, when he noticed the backpack in the backseat.

But he was rushing to return to the garage of the Light of Glory Taxi Services in La Paz District because he was already late for the 8 a.m. turnover of the taxi unit.

“I decided to turn over the bag at our office instead of returning to Miag-ao because my partner driver was already waiting for the unit. But I did not open it (backpack),” he said.

Nieves, who had called the taxi company’s office to inquire about his backpack, later claimed his bag and thanked Anselmo for returning it.

Anselmo said it was not a difficult decision to turn over the bag.

“I would have still returned it even if the passenger did not report it. I want my conscience to be clear and I don’t want to compromise my family’s future,” he said.

He said that if he had denied finding the bag, he wouldn’t be able to sleep.

“I would also be at a loss if that happened to me especially if I lost money that I worked hard for,” he said.

A taxi driver for four years, it was already the third time that Anselmo returned belongings left by his passengers.

The first was a cellular phone and the second was a bag containing P80,000 in cash and a laptop computer.

For his honesty, Anselmo was given P10,000 by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

A portion of the amount was used for the family’s New Year’s Eve feast consisting of pork tinola (ginger stew), fried chicken, pancit (noodles), cake and soda.

The meal may be simple but, it was already a banquet for Anselmo and his family.

“I’m still a taxi driver and we don’t want to spend that much,” he told the Inquirer.

Aside from the cash reward from the LTFRB, Anselmo also received a certificate of recognition and a sack of rice, among others, from the Light of Glory Taxi Services, one of the biggest taxi companies in Western Visayas.

“We always emphasize to our drivers the critical importance of honesty in our service,” said lawyer Joseph Vincent Go, the company’s general manager.

He said dishonest drivers are terminated from the company while those with good record, like Anselmo, are given priority in driving newer and better taxi units which customers usually prefer.

Anselmo’s honesty has earned him praises from fellow taxi drivers and commuters.

“I did not expect to be famous and be rewarded,” said Anselmo, a high school graduate.