HOW long can you keep lost money until its owner returns for it?
Being in this kind of situation can be a test of honesty and integrity.
Cesnee Vizconde Tan did not only find her lost money but also people of these values in Pastilan sa Ponce.
Tan took to her Facebook account her amazement when the bills she lost while dining in an eatery about three years ago were the same bills that were returned to her by the owner.
"All this time, the owner waited for me kay nakita daw nila ang 3k nga nawala nako sa una (All this time, the owner waited for me because they have seen the P3,000 that I lost before)," she said in her post.
In a phone interview with SunStar Davao, Tan, a graduate of Ateneo de Davao University (Addu), shared she has always been a patron of the famous Pastilan sa Ponce in Jacinto St., Davao City since her undergraduate and law school years.
She said the incident happened around February or January 2017. After eating at the Pastilan and left the place, she realized she lost her P3,000. She went back to the eatery and asked the staff, hoping that someone may have seen it but to no avail.
Fast forward to December 7, 2019, Saturday, a little less before the third year of that incident, Tan said she was able to eat in her favorite place when suddenly the owner, Rosalina Garcia, recognized her as their regular customer and approached her.
"Niadto siya sa akong atbang unya ni tutok siya sa akoa unya niana siya, 'Tagal mo nang di nakabalik dito Mam noh? Diba ikaw yung nawalan ng P3,000?' (She went in front of me and stared for a while until she said 'You have not visited for so long. You were the one who lost P3,000, right?')," Tan recounted.
The woman pulled out from her wallet the three P1,000 bill folded in the same way Tan kept those before those were lost, obviously unreplaced.
"I was shocked and at first, I can't believe it. It is the same bill that I lost three years ago. Mao gyud to ang bill nga nahatag sa akoa. Grabe siya ka extraordinary nga event (The bill that I lost three years ago was the same bill that was returned to me. It was a very extraordinary event)," Tan said.
In an interview with SunStar Davao, Garcia said the lost money was actually found by a guy customer and turned it over to her. She kept the money, hoping that Tan would come back.
"Kung ano tong nahulog pera nya na nakapilo, mao lang gihapon to. Wala gyud nako gihilabtan," said Garcia.
She added: "Kung tagoon nako, dili nako ihatag, kung gastuson nako to, basi mawala ning among negosyo. Basi kuhaon sa Ginoo sa amoa ang grasya. Mas malaki mawala sa amoa kesa sa P3,000 (If I hide it, if I will not return it and use it instead, God might take out what we have. We might lost more than P3,000)."
She said she always reminds her staff to endorse to her any lost items found in their restaurant.
"Bilib gyud ka nga naa pay mga honest nga tao (I cannot believe that there are still honest people)," Tan shared.
The account of the act of honesty and integrity of the Pastilan's owner gained more than 6,400 reactions, 356 comments, and were shared around 2,700 times as of 1:27 PM on Monday, December 9.
In this eatery, honesty could be their best policy.