Well, this didn’t work out as planned.
The Manila Police District (MPD) recently discovered that the “honesty store” set up in its headquarters had lost thousands of pesos after a woman was caught stealing the store’s goods and proceeds.
In a report by ABS-CBN News yesterday, Juren Tausa, a representative from the MPD’s co-op said that they discovered the losses after reviewing their inventory.
“When we did an ending inventory, 10,459 [pesos] (US$195.47) was lacking [from the proceeds],” he said.
The MPD launched the honesty store just two months ago as a way to test the honesty of police officers and staff.
It sells items normally found in convenience stores or sari-sari stores like cup noodles, instant coffee, and bread. Like other honesty stores, customers are trusted to deposit their payment in a container and get the exact amount of change even when no one is looking.
But it turns out not everyone gets the idea.
Apparently, the theft was happening right under their noses as the suspect turned out to be a woman who had been volunteering at the station.
The woman remains unidentified but according to The Philippine Star, she had been working in the police headquarters as an assistant for several years.
CCTV footage from July 23 shows her grabbing goods from the store without paying. According to ABS-CBN News, the woman will be charged with theft.
The MPD also plans to add an IOU list to the honesty store for people who can’t pay for the products right away.
Apart from the MPD, other companies have also set up their own honesty-based payment systems.
Late last month, a local bus company launched an “honest pay system” wherein passengers are expected to place their payment in a cash box instead of giving it to a conductor.
Many lauded the bus company for the idea but some were also skeptical and said that it was not going to work. “A lot of Filipinos are dishonest,” one netizen even said.
