For returning checks found in jeepney: Tom to reward honest driver

Honesty, definitely, is still the best policy.

A jeepney driver may find his record of traffic violations scrapped aside from getting other forms of rewards for turning over to the city hall an envelope full of checks worth over P400,000 that was left in his vehicle yesterday morning.

Ronnie Rudinas, 36 years old, was cleaning his jeepney while preparing to ply his route for the day after breakfast when he found the envelope under the passengers' seat.

He told his wife about the find and decided to turn the envelope over to City Hall so the checks can be returned to their rightful owner.

For his honest deed, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said he is willing to scrap the traffic violations that Rudinas might have accumulated as a jeepney driver after circumstances of the find would be evaluated.

Osmeña also said the city would reward Rudinas appropriately so he would not become a "laughing stock" among his fellow drivers, who many not agree of his returning the checks.

"When I see drivers like these, I feel very, very encouraged that there's hope and the hope comes from ordinary people with strong sense of values," Osmeña said.

There were two sets of checks worth P67,700 and P268,637 that were for deposit while another set worth a total P95,914 were "pay to cash". The 23 Metrobank checks totaled P433,311 and were under the name of Koc Suan Dy.

Rudinas turned the checks over to Osmeña through City Councilor Augustus Pe.

A resident of barangay Apas, Rudinas' jeepney plies the Mabolo- Osmeña Blvd. route since 1996.