Honesty pays (P50,000) for airport cleaner

THERE’S an honest employee here. On April 26, airport janitor Mary Jennifer Doroga (not in photo) found a bag of money and turned it over to NAIA authorities. INQUIRER file photo

MANILA, Philippines—For her honesty, airport janitor Mary Jennifer Doroga is reaping rewards.

Doroga, 32, was about to go home on April 26 when she saw a plastic bag at the arrival customs counter at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia)  Terminal 1.

She opened the bag and saw it contained cash in various currencies.

Instead of keeping it, Doroga turned the bag of money over to airport authorities.

On Thursday, Doroga received a check for P50,000 from the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Associations Foundation Inc. (FFCAFI).

According to Manny Dy, the association’s honorary president, the group decided to reward Doroga to recognize her exemplary honesty.

Doroga, who did not finish high school, was grateful.

Big help

“This amount is a big help to my family,” she said. “I’m really grateful, I really can’t be thankful enough.”

A resident of Baltao, Parañaque City, Doroga has been working as a contractual janitor at Naia Terminal 1 for seven years now.

She said she would use part of the FFCAFI reward to pay for debt and for the medical expenses of her ailing mother.

Doroga has also earned the admiration of her superiors and coworkers at the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA).

“It is our pride to have silent heroes like her in our midst,” MIAA General Manager Jose Angel Honrado said. “What she did should inspire other airport workers to do the same.”

Doroga has also been invited to various radio and television programs, where she is recognized for her good deed.

Last week, she was a guest on singer-actress Sharon Cuneta’s TV show. She said Cuneta promised to help her finish school.

“I can’t believe that all these are happening to me,” Doroga said. “These are all unexpected.”

No one has come forward to claim the money that Doroga has found. It remains in the safekeeping of the MIAA’s Intelligence and Investigation Division.

In a previous interview, Doroga said she did not know her find’s equivalent in pesos, but she knew it would help her family if she kept it.

But she decided against keeping it.

“It was the first time I saw so much money, but it never crossed my mind to keep it,” Doroga said. “I don’t take what isn’t mine.”