SRP CASH INCIDENT: Those who won’t return money of embattled collector may face legal consequences 

Cash scattered along the Cebu South Coastal Road at the SRP after a collector’s bag opened while driving along the viaduct.

CEBU CITY, Philippines – At least P2 million has yet to be returned to the remittance collector who lost almost P4 million in cash after his money bag’s zipper malfunctioned while driving alone at the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) at the South Road Properties (SRP).

While several honest individuals have already handed back the money they found, police urged other finders to turn the rest over to the collector or the authorities. 

READ: Netizens rally behind embattled collector, ask people to return money lost in SRP incident 

The Mambaling Police Station on Wednesday, July 5, 2023, said they are tracing the identities of those who picked up the money scattered on the northbound lane of CSCR last Tuesday, July 4.

If the individuals identified still refuse to return the money, they may face legal actions, the station’s police chief said.

Investigators of the Mambaling Police Station said they already secured closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage around CSCR, as well as those uploaded on the internet, to determine the identities of the individuals who picked up the money that flew out of the bag of collector John Mark Barrientos last Tuesday, July 4.

As of 9 a.m. on Wednesday, at least three individuals have already returned a total of more than P30,000 to the Mambaling Police Station.

But according to Police Staff Sergeant Jonas Recaplaza, desk officer of the Mambaling Police Station, Barrientos still needed to retrieve a total of P2 million.

“We’re already in contact with the collector who will be dropping by at our station to get the money returned,” Recaplaza said in Cebuano, in an interview with Cebu-based radio station dyHP. 

On Tuesday, Barrientos was on his way to Mandaue City after collecting money from a mall in SRP. He was driving along the northbound lane of CSCR, carrying close to P4 million in cash in his bag when its zipper suddenly opened. 

READ: P4 million in cash flies out of bag in SRP, collector pleads finders to return money

The money then flew out of his bag, with several bills scattered on the viaduct of the CSCR. 

Barrientos, as well as police in Mambaling, continue to urge those who picked up the money to return them, reminding them that the money does not belong to them. 

/bmjo