Cabaero: Case of the scavengers

Monday, January 23, 2012

IT IS worth noting how the scavengers who found the P1.6 million worth of jewelry in Mandaue City spent the money and immediately surrendered what remained of it.

Although the end does not justify the means and the law says they cannot keep the jewelry, it is interesting how they used the fortune that they found by accident.

A report on the police effort said the three scavengers who found the jewelry last Jan. 12 at the Mandaue City dump immediately returned the P500,000 worth of jewelry still left with them.

One said he pawned an item and used the money to buy materials to repair his house that got damaged in a recent flood. He also bought drinks and bags of rice for friends and neighbors.

Another used the money to buy a nebulizer for a child’s asthma attacks and for tuition, and thanked the Sto. Niño for answering prayers. Still another kept the jewelry he found and waited for someone to claim it. They didn’t own it so they gave it back, without a protest.

It may be because they didn’t know what the law required them to do or it was the surprise of stumbling upon some money that they used part of it.

They found the jewelry from among the trash that a dump truck deposited at the Barangay Umapad dumpsite. It turned out that the family of businessman Vicente H. Tan owns the jewelry. The process to reclaim the items has been started by the family.

The Mandaue City Government has custody of the recovered jewelry and the cash. It will post a notice to the public and wait two weeks to give claimants a chance. It will then have six months to validate the claims. Those claiming the jewelry have to show receipts, photos of them wearing the pieces or other documents to prove ownership.

It would not have reached this point in the recovery process had the scavengers not immediately cooperated with the police. It may be for fear of getting sued or of being arrested that they readily admitted to the truth.

Those in government facing corruption charges can learn some things from these scavengers. They can learn to be afraid.

Past reports of government officials named in corruption cases showed that the money was used to buy several cars and houses for members of their own families. Some of the houses bought were not in the country but in the United States. Trips abroad were taken and expensive dinners were tendered, all using money stolen from the people.

Whether they stole it or they simply accepted the bribe, they used the money for their own purposes. To answer the charges, they hire a battery of lawyers and put into motion a press relations machinery.

The scavengers cannot rest easy until the case is settled and they are cleared of any illegal action.

The corrupt officials, backed by their lawyers, have the temerity to smugly face accusers and issue denials.

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The online streaming and live blog of the Sun.Star website on the impeachment trial of Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona will continue today at www.sunstar.com.ph.

The video is taken from the NBN government television channel while the live blog is by the website’s Manila reporters.

Those unable to catch the proceedings on television may watch the interesting play of events online.

(ninicab@sunstar.com.ph)