OFW in Singapore commended for honesty

An overseas Filipino worker (OFW) in Singapore was commended for returning a wallet containing S$16,600 ($11,000) left behind in the comfort room of a mall in the city-state, an embassy report said yesterday.

Philippine Ambassador to Singapore Belen Fule-Anota personally met and commended Marites Perez Galam, a Filipina head waitress at the Imperial Herbal Restaurant, who returned the wallet left behind last Sept. 15.

Galam, a mother of four, found the wallet in a common toilet near the restaurant inside VivoCity mall. Without hesitation, she immediately gave the wallet to the restaurant’s manager who reported the found item to the mall’s management.

The wallet’s owner, an Indonesian woman, claimed it less than two hours later. She said she and her husband had saved the money for the medical treatment of their son, who urgently needs ear surgery.

Galam said the Indonesian lady and her family thanked her profusely and even offered to reward her, but she refused to accept any reward.

The Filipina worker said that she returned the money without expecting anything in return, and that it was enough that she was doing the right thing for someone who needed help.

Her manager, however, promised to make her employee of the month and give her a modest cash incentive.

Anota cited Galam for her honesty and for being a role model for the 130,000 Filipino workers in Singapore and the millions of OFWs worldwide.

“You have shown that the Filipino worker is not only diligent, reliable, but also honest and worthy of trust and confidence. Through your selfless act and for upholding the values we hold dear as a people, you have made us proud to be Filipinos,” Anota told Galam during the latter’s courtesy visit to the embassy.

Galam’s act of honesty received prominent coverage in two major Singapore dailies – Shin Min Daily News, a major Chinese newspaper, and The New Paper, a major English tabloid in the city-state.