2 honest students return P50K to owner

PARACELIS, Mountain Province: Two students have been getting accolades after they returned a wallet containing P50,000 in Bontoc, Mountain Province.

Villagers lauded Christopher Sigua, 13, and Troy Chumapoy, 12, for their honesty. Sigua is in Grade 9 while Chumapoy is in Grade 8 at the Mountain Province General Comprehensive High School.

“God bless both of you because you have a good heart and mind. We are proud of you. Keep up the good job,” villager Lea Calado said.

“May the fear of God continue to abound in your heart and mind,” said Oshia-line Ut-utan, a Mountain Province resident.

“Keep up the good values,” said another villager in Judith Bete.

The two students were on their way home after their afternoon class on March 3 when they noticed a woman’s brown wallet, which fell in the middle of the road in Barangay Teng-ab, Bontoc, Mountain Province.

When Sigua opened it, he saw P50,000 cash, ATM cards and other papers.

They tried chasing a motorcycle where the owner was riding. However, they were unable to catch up. The motorcycle they were using also ran out of fuel when they reached the boundary of Bontoc Ili and Guina-ang.

They tried to call the number on an identification card named as Shirlene Mangusan but no one answered.

They were still joking about where to spend it but Sigua said it was bad, and they would return it to the owner.

When they ran out of cell phone load, they went to a store, loaded their phone and called the number again but no one answered. They told the store owner they were looking for the wallet owner.

Sigua said they asked the store owner to temporarily keep it and they will find the owner the next day.

Later, Mangusan was contacted via social media accounts through Sigua’s mother, and they agreed to meet at the post office. however, they were not able to meet there, and the students brought the wallet to the school because they had already had classes.

Mangusan went to school to meet the students. She thanked them and said she needed the money to buy materials for their home.