DUBAI: Generally, the rule of thumb would be “Finders, keepers,” as Honest Abe has long passed away.
Not for Technical Sergeant Armando Gamboa, who according to the Armed Forces of the Philippines’ Western Command Public Information Office (WCPIO), recently marched on the parade ground to receive the Sagisag ng Ulirang Kawal Award, (Symbol of the Model Soldier).
About a month earlier at around noon of June 11, 2019, TSgt. Gamboa stumbled on a wallet with Php6,000 cash and several automated teller machine cards containing millions of pesos along a Veterans Avenue. He returned it to its owner, refusing to accept a monetary reward offered, according to a WCPIO report.
The report described the commendation a “befitting recognition conferred on TSgt. Gamboa by the WestMinCom leadership for his honesty.”
The report also quoted him as saying, “Sa 27 taon ko sa serbisyo, laging nakatatak sa puso at isipan ko ang pagiging sundalo na may disiplina, dignidad, at katapatan sa tungkulin, hindi lamang sa bayan kung hindi maging sa kapwa tao (In my 27 years of active military service, I have always inculcated in my heart and mind the values of discipline, dignity, and honesty),”
According to the WCPIO report, Gamboa immediately turned over the wallet with GBPI TV-11, a Zamboanga media organization. But when nobody had shown up to claim it in the succeeding week, the soldier, finding an emergency number in the owner’s identification card, called the former’s wife on June 25.
This communication facilitated the meeting between the two at GBPI, said the WCPIO report.
The owner, obviously happy to have his wallet back and elated by Gamboa’s honesty, offered a PhP10,000 reward.
But TSg. Gamboa refused, saying, “Ang paggawa ng tama ay walang katumbas na halaga ng pera o karangyaan sa buhay.”
Brigadier General Generoso Ponio, deputy commander for operations, awarded the Sagisag ng Ulirang Kawal to TSg. Gamboa during a flag-raising ceremony in Camp Navarro, Zamboanga City at 7am on June 22.
