MANILA, Philippines - A taxi driver has returned around P200,000 to a British tourist who forgot his bag inside the cab.
Ricky Lamanilao, who has been driving a taxi in Metro Manila for 25 years, returned the cash, which was in British pounds and Philippine pesos, as well as the passport, credit cards, and other documents of Paul Ross.
The tourist said he rode in Lamanilao's taxi from a mall and asked to be brought to his hotel in Makati.
He realized that he left behind his bag containing his valuables after he alighted from the taxi.
"I was panicking... all my money, my passport," Ross said.
Lamanilao said he already had another passenger when he realized that his previous passenger forgot his bag inside the taxi.
"Sabi sa kin nung pasahero, nagmamadali kami pero sabi ko, kailangan kong itabi pagtingin ko meron nga," he said.
He then returned to the hotel where Ross got off to return the bag.
Ross breathed a sigh of relief after he got his valuables back.
"I will go back to the Philippines because of Ricky," he said.
Lamanilao said it was the third time that he has returned valuables left behind by passengers.
He said he returned them despite being sometimes hard-up on cash.
"Napuputulan nga kami ng kuryente. Minsan 3 buwan di nakakabayad...naniniwala ako sa karma," he added.
As a reward, Ross took him as his personal taxi driver while the British tourist is in the Philippines.
The hotel where Ross stays will also give Lamanilao a commission everytime he brings in a guest. - Report from Zen Hernandez, ABS-CBN News