A passenger reported to the airport police that his shoulder bag containing his Philippine passport, cash money and assorted items went missing after placing it on top of one of the nearby pushcarts at the arrival level.
The passenger, who came from Cebu last Sunday, said that while looking after his other pieces of luggage and while his attention was temporarily distracted, the pile of pushcarts was taken away together with his shoulder bag.
This prompted the passenger, who asked not to be named, to report the matter to airport security. Airport Police Officer Perfecto Sagun accompanied the passenger to the closed-circuit television room to review the footage to help find leads to the missing bag.
During screening, it was shown that the passenger was not carrying the bag he was referring to while going down from the elevator coming from the fourth level.
Meanwhile, at around 8:50 a.m. last Sunday, security guard Shiela Mae Subrado of Advance Force Security & Investigation Service Inc. furnished the police with an Acknowledgement Receipt issued by the Lost and Found Unit for a shoulder bag that matches the reported missing item.
The bag was found by airport employee Shiela Mae Guerrero at a convenience store, on the fourth floor of Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3 and was surrendered to the Lost and Found Section.
In light of this development, Manila International Airport Authority General Manager Ed Monreal appealed to the public to be mindful of their belongings always, noting that many passengers are under intense pressure when they travel, and most often misplace their belongings through neglect or absent-mindedness.
“I appeal to the flying public and other airport users to be more mindful of their belongings, especially during rush hour. I am happy that the culture of honesty has become viral among airport workers, that is why we have numerous instances of recovered items that were returned to their rightful owners,” Monreal said, as he praised Guerrero’s honesty.