Honest OFW from HK returns home

Mildred Perez, the Filipino domestic helper who returned HK $350,545 (P2.1 million) she found while rummaging through a trash bin in Hong Kong, returned home on Tuesday afternoon.

Perez was to return to her home town in Bambang in Nueva Vizcaya but said she would have to go back to the former British colony to pursue charges against her former employer.

The 38-year-old domestic helper alleged that her employer made sexual advances on her. With the case filed in Hong Kong, Perez was barred from seeking employment pending the resolution of her case.

Left with no source of income and money to go back to the Philippines, Perez was forced to live with her sister who was also a domestic helper but with little means to support her.

She eventually turned to scrounging on garbage bins, collecting trashes that can be recycled.

Last April 29, Perez chanced upon a thick packet just slightly bigger than an airmail envelope, in a trash bin at the corner of Pottinger Street and Des Voeux Road.

The envelope contained cash and checks amounting to HK$350,545.

Instead of keeping the money, she returned it to the owner - and got a can of biscuits in return.

A month before the incident, her husband, Eddie Perez, who works as a tricycle driver, was said to have returned a bag containing P20,000 to a passenger in Nueva Ecija. He was given P10 for his fare home by the owner in return.

Because of her exemplary display of honesty, Mildred Perez has been reaping honors and rewards from home.

Rep. Carlos Padilla of the lone district of Nueva Vizcaya, passed House Resolution 1212 commending her honesty and trustworthiness.

Padilla, who helped raised some money, confirmed that a P100,000 financial support for Perez’s family is now ready on top of the P50, 000, which will be coming from the provincial government and additional financial support from Mayor Benjamin Cuaresma of Bambang town.

Eddie Perez was also offered a job at the provincial office of the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Moreover, the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) approved a request by Padilla for educational assistance for two of the Perezes children.

The Perez couple belong to the Isinay tribe of Bambang and Aritao, a tribe known for the virtue of honesty.

By : Joseph Holandes Ubalde, GMANews.TV