Finders keepers, it is said.
To village officials in the northern Negros city of Cadiz, however, one must return or turn over what is not yours.
Even if it is almost half a million pesos.
Community radio station dyAG Hapi Radio 1125 Khz reported officials found the money, exactly P410,500 inside the service vehicle of Andres Bonifacio village.
The dyAG report, posted on its Facebook page, also said village councilman Archimedes Abong found the money around 9am yesterday, 25 November.
A day before, village chief Enrique Lamoste sent their treasurer, Celia Rose Meraiz, to buy a box of syringe needles from Cadiz Emergency Drug Store worth P1,100.
Yesterday, Abong turned over the box to their midwife.
Officials were surprised when they opened the box and found bundles of money inside.
Lamoste to Meraiz and Abong to immediately turn over the money to the local police.
Meraiz said it is possible the box containing the drugstore’s collection could have been mistaken for the syringe box they bought.
The drug store manager, Jeoffrey Cepeda, thanked Meraiz and the officials.
He said they did not even notice their money was gone had not the officials reported it.
