HIGH school students, a public-school teacher, cabbies, tricycle drivers, janitors, a security guard, civil servants, and a sales lady – all ordinary people doing honest toil stood out to exemplify integrity in 16 separate occasions during the year.
Twenty-one outstanding individuals were conferred the Honesty, Integrity, and Public Accountability (HIP) Award by the Office of the Ombudsman yesterday at Novotel Manila Araneta City as part of this year’s observance of the International Anti-Corruption Day.
For junior high school students Christopher Sigua and Troy Peya Chumapoy of the Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School, being feted was the farthest thing from their minds when they found a wallet full of cash and returned it to its owner on March 12, 2024. It was simply the correct thing to do.
Tricycle driver Wilfredo Pascual Jr. of Laoag City is no stranger to the daily grind to eke out a meager living plying dusty roads, but keeping the P170,000 he found in a wallet never crossed his mind. Instead, he surrendered the billfold with the money to local radio station DZJC Aksyon Radyo which successfully returned it to the owner.
At the other end of the country in Butuan City, Delfin Añora Jr., also a tricycle driver, picked up a red envelope with P300,000 and several important documents inside. He took time off from ferrying passengers to bring the envelope to Radyo Mindanao Network DXBC 693 whose station manager traced the owner who met Añora in person to convey his gratitude.
In variations of the same anecdotes, all the other awardees went out of their way to restore misplaced valuable properties to their rightful owners without thoughts of recognition or rewards.
They are Rosalinda Cellero, sanitation staff at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3; cab driver Wilfredo Campos of Baguio City; James Palma of Mandurriao in Iloilo; security guard Rodney Visperas and merchandiser Amani Sarip, both working at SM City Baguio; hotel room attendant Maricor Tinio of Mandaue City; Laguindingan Airport sanitation personnel Joshua Bustamante and Dunckfried Cerillo of Cagayan de Oro City; security screening officers Gina Edera and Griffel Vien Salaum at the Butuan Airport; Bureau of Immigration border control and intelligence officer Jay Manansala assigned at the Clark International Airport; Immigration officer Olivia Ivory Ojeda at the NAIA Terminal 1; and PNP officers Rodolfo Calma, Jesus Chito Manaois, Ladislao Constantino Jr., and Marcial Marquez.
Teacher Melanie Figueroa, though confronted with a different situation, was spurred by the same selfless mindset and desire to help students of Hinaplanon National High School in Iligan City.
Her program “Adopt-a-Student: Kaagapay sa Pangarap in 2011” started out by filling up what the students lacked – uniforms, school supplies, footwear, bags – until it grew to support 55 school children.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, teacher Melanie expanded her search for donations through “Laptop para sa Pangarap.”
In a high-stakes game where she bet on the future of the children under her care, she collected the most remarkable reward – a student and first recipient of Laptop para sa Pangarap, Dennis Balagbis, graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering at the Mindanao State University – Iligan Institute of Technology, as a cum laude, no less.
Ombudsman Samuel Martires, in his keynote address during the ceremony, bid his audience to recognize that the campaign to end corruption is not a simple matter of crafting sensible policies but of transforming the viewpoint of ordinary Filipinos.
“This fight requires more than policies; it demands genuine collaboration among government agencies, civil society and the private sector. It requires every Filipino to embody the values of honesty, fairness, and justice in their daily lives. Let us continue to build a nation where public trust is upheld, governance is exemplary, and corruption is never tolerated,” Martires said.
