Lost cash for chemo returned

CEBU, Philippines - The woman who left her cash and valuables in a taxicab claimed her items from the Cebu City Police Office yesterday and could only be thankful to SPO2 Isagani Ceniza for returning the money intended for her daughter’s chemotherapy.

Ceniza was the one who found the bag that contained the items in the taxi that he and his wife took last Friday.

Ceniza said he found the bag behind the driver’s seat while unloading grocery items. He reportedly took the money with him after exchanging contact numbers with Tetsoknee Taxi driver Noel Eraña who denied owning the bag.

He found $2,093 (P89,999); P8,500 cash, two gold rings, a pair of earrings, credit cards, and other important items in the bag.

At 9 a.m. yesterday, the owner of the bag, Erlinda Fleming, 63, met Ceniza at CCPO and claimed her belongings. She said the P100,000 cash in the bag is intended for her daughter’s treatment. Her daughter is suffering from stage 4 cancer.

Fleming, who married and worked in Anchorage, Alaska, learned from a report over GMA Balitang Bisdak last Monday afternoon that the cash and items were found. She then called up the television station and was referred to CCPO.

Fleming wanted to reward Ceniza, but the 52-year-old jail guard of CCPO declined.

“Ayaw na lang ma’am. Your smile is enough (There is no need, Ma’am. Your smile is enough),” Ceniza told Fleming.

Ceniza said he was happy to have found the bag because he knows the feeling of losing something.

Fleming had just arrived from Alaska last September 10. She has been frequenting Cebu to attend to her daughter. She is a retired employee of the Department of Defense in Alaska where she worked for 26 years.

Meanwhile, an employee of an insurance company sought the help of The Freeman after she reportedly lost her wallet worth P3,000. The owner, Janice Arbas, suspects she might have dropped the wallet in the taxi she took on the way home to Barangay Bulacao last Monday night.

The wallet is made of leather, is colored black, and has a “Hello Kitty” design. Arbas appealed that the wallet be returned as it is a collector’s item.

“Naguol g’yud ko kay nangolekta g’yud ko ana. Pinalit pa nako ‘to from Manila. Duha ra mi diri sa Cebu naa ana (I’m sad because it’s a collector’s item. I bought the wallet from Manila… there are only two of us in Cebu that has it),” she said.

She said whoever will find it can contact her at 0942560000 or return the wallet to The Freeman office. – (FREEMAN)