Honest cabbie dies of cancer
Nestor Sulpico who was called "New York's most honest taxi driver" died without fulfilling all his dreams. But he remained a hero to his family and all those who knew him.
Sulpico, the Ilonggo taxi driver who drew international praise four years ago after he returned $70,000 worth of black pearls that a passenger left in the cab he was driving in New York City, died on Thursday at his home in Jaro District in this city from a lingering stomach ailment. He was 51.
His mother Elena said Sulpico was diagnosed as having cancer of the stomach shortly after he returned home from New York in December last year.
"He was complaining of continuous stomach pains," Elena said in a telephone interview.
His 20-year-old daughter Angel by his estranged wife found his remains at the their room Thursday morning.
"I was the last to know that he was suffering from an ailment and he did not tell me what it was. He just asked me if I would be okay if he will be gone," said Angel.
Sulpico's mother said he had already bought plane tickets because he was planning to go back to New York to finish a nursing course that he took up after he earned international fame for returning the pearls.
"He had two subjects left and he had wanted to be a nurse so that he could bring Angel with him to the US," said Elena.
For years after he came to the US in 1990, Sulpico drove a taxi up to 16 hours daily to earn a living in New York.
But his his fate changed on July 15, 2004 after he found the pearls inside a backpack left by hedge-fund manager Lawrence Policastro.
In an interview shortly after he found the pearls, Sulpico had said that at first he imagined how the jewels, worth nearly P4 million then, could change his life.
"I thought of the days when I was just roaming New York, shivering in the snow, desperately looking for a job."
But Sulpico said that returning the jewels was one of the easiest decisions he ever made in his life. "I believe that honesty is the most important virtue which serves as a foundation of all other virtues."
He called Policastro through the mobile phone he found in the backpack and told the businessman that he had the jewels.
The deed earned him praises from New Yorkers calling him "New York's most honest taxi driver" because taxi drivers in the city are notorious for being discourteous and for over-charging their passengers especially tourists.
Policastro had offered him a $500 reward, which Sulpico was reluctant to accept at first. The businessman has also raised at least $5,000 for an educational fund that will help the Filipino driver finish his nursing studies at the Bronx Community College.
New York Michael Bloomberg also gave him an "integrity award" and a symbolic key to the city.
Sulpico was also hailed a hero at home where he returned to a hero's welcome especially in his hometown in Iloilo.
The Senate passed a resolution commending his honesty and he also received a citation and P100,000 cash reward from President Macapagal-Arroyo.
Elena said his son did not have any regrets of his feat and he remained proud of it throughout these years.
"He lived and died with the virtues that I taught them since they were children. Nothing has changed him even after he became famous," said the 88-year-old Elena.
During an interview four years ago, Sulpico said his feat fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming a hero.
"I could not ask for more and even if I die, I feel that I have become a role model for the younger generations," he said.