DUMAGUETE CITY – A Soldier from an Army unit in Negros Oriental displays Filipino culture of honesty and kindness by turning over a wallet and a Sony camera he found in Bethel Hotel at 10:50 a.m. last June 22, 2012.

Sergeant Francisco Palencia from the Army’s 79th Infantry (Masaligan) Battalion was sitting in the lobby of the said hotel when he noticed a wallet and a camera in a sofa which no one bothered to pick up.

Out of concern to the owner and sheer kindness, Palencia immediately picked-up the said items and hand it over to the hotel management for safekeeping.

The wallet, containing a cash amount of 6,370 pesos and a Sony camera, is owned by Ms. Caryl Groover Grin, a foreign tourist visiting Dumaguete City and a client of said hotel.

“Sgt Palencia reflects the true essence of the unit’s name “Masaligan,” an Ilonggo word which means trustworthy,” said Major General Jose Mabanta Jr, Commander of the Army’s 3rd Infantry (Spearhead) Division.

“I commend Sgt Palencia for bringing honor not only to the Army but to the Filipino people as well. Good news will spread again among foreigners regarding the Filipinos’ honesty and concern for others,” added Mabanta.

A week ago, Sergeant Wenceslao Pabito Jr from the Army’s 301st Infantry (Bayanihan) Brigade was also commended for his act of honesty and concern when he turned-in a wallet containing a cheque he found at the Iloilo Airport to the local media.

It could also be remembered last February when a 6.9 magnitude earthquake hit La Libertad, Negros Oriental, Privates Danny Faigane and Marlon Vera from the 3ID’s 32nd Division Reconnaissance Company returned the P90,000 cash they found in the retrieval site to the owner.

There was also Corporal Fernando Samperoy of 3ID’s 47th Infantry Battalion who returned a bag he found at the parking area of the Kabankalan Cathedral at Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental which contained money amounting to P50,000 owned by Rev. Father Leopoldo Cahilig, parish priest of Isabela of the same province last March 3, 2012.

Press Release from 3DPAO