Charles Teves
- Roberto and Farida De Guzman were given a certificate of appreciation by the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah for returning money lost by a Saudi national
- The Saudi national says that Filipinos are great people
Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) Roberto and Farida De Guzman were praised by netizens and the Philippines for returning a bag filled with 40,000 Saudi Riyals to its rightful owner.
Roberto and Farida were in their car and were making their way out when they saw a bag on the pavement. Farida got out and retrieved the bag. The couple was surprised when they saw a lot of money inside it.
Farida immediately went through the bag to look for IDs so they can return the bag to its rightful owner.
“‘Pag dating namin sa bahay ay hinalungkat niya (Farida) lahat ng ano, kinuha ko ang lahat ng identity card nya,” Roberto said.
“Sa hirap ng buhay ngayon, naisip namin ‘yun dahil kailangan namin ng pera. Kung hindi namin nakita ang identity card ng mama, hindi namin isosoli kasi hindi namin alam kung saan namin dadalhin iyon,” Roberto added.
They were able to find multiple IDs and contacted the owner and returned the bag.
The couple admitted that they did not know what to do at first and were nervous, knowing that they were in a country that is known to be unfriendly towards foreigners.
“Parang hindi namin maintindihan, parang lumulutang ka sa ere, hindi ko maisip na ganito pala pag nakatulong ka sa, ‘pag na isoli mo ‘yung nakuha mo. Yung nerbisyos ko nawala na ng naibigay ko na,” the couple added.
The owner of the money then praised the couple saying, “Philippines is a great country and the people, they are great people.”
The couple were then given a certificate of appreciation by the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah for their honesty.
Consul General to Jeddah Edgar Badajos also praised the couple. “Half a million pesos ‘yan, 40,0000 Saudi Riyals, ang napulot ng mag-asawa. Mahirap ang buhay, pero sa kabila noon ay nakita pa rin ang katapatan ng mag-asawa na talagang nakaka-inspire.”
