An honest tricycle driver has been given public recognition for returning a bag containing cash and left behind by one of his passengers.
On Feb. 22, Facebook user Justine de Guzman recalled an incident wherein Rannie Nunag, a tricycle driver from San Mateo, Rizal, returned the precious belongings left by De Guzman’s mother. Two days before, her mother and a niece had to go to town to withdraw money from the bank. Due to urgent needs, she had to commute as her car was unavailable that day.
“Kahit hindi sanay si Mama, nag-commute na lang siya (Even though Mama is not used to commuting, she did it) because we needed to use the money for something important. On their way home, dahil busy si Mama sa paghawak sa bata at marami pa siyang ibang bitbit, hindi na niya napansin na nalaglag ‘yung sling bag na nakasabit sa balikat niya (since Mama was busy tending a niece and holding other things, she failed to notice that her sling bag fell from her shoulder),” De Guzman wrote in a Facebook post that has garnered 246,000 likes and 75,300 shares as of this writing.
An hour after their tricycle ride, De Guzman’s mother realized that she had left her bag containing more than P20,000, identification cards and three cell phones.
De Guzman began ringing up all her mother’s numbers while her sister commuted to the tricycle bay area to track down Nunag. After several calls, Nunag answered her mom’s phone and asked if he could return the bag to their house.
“But the guy’s an angel at maririnig mo talaga sa boses niyang intensyon niyang ibalik ‘yung bag (and you could discern from his voice that he intended to return the bag). So I said, ‘Kuya, papunta na kami sa Budgetlane’ (we are meeting you at Budgetlane),” she said.
When they arrived at Budgetlane Supermarket, Nunag handed the bag, with the money and gadgets intact.
De Guzman and her family thanked Nunag for his honesty and integrity. She added, “It pays to have integrity in our veins. Maliit na bagay para sa kaniya pero para sa ‘min, para sa Mama ko na halos umiyak na no’ng na-realize niyang nawawala ‘yung bag, napakalaking bagay nito. Sana, marami pang kagaya nito ni kuya ( It can be a small thing to him, but to us, [especially for] our mother who was nearly as tears when she realized she had lost her bag, it’s a big deal. I hope there will be more people like Nunag).”
Nunag’s honesty and kindness have been lauded by thousands of social media users, and reached the attention of the Municipality of San Mateo. On Tuesday, Mayor Tina Diaz and the city councilors recognized Nunag’s honesty in a simple ceremony.
“It wasn’t a story of me recognizing people with a good heart. It was about a simple citizen who would never stop doing good to others,” De Guzman said in a follow-up post. Gianna Francesca Catolico /ra
