EXCLUSIVE: The Story Behind Trent Shields And Baguio City Driver Reggie Cabututan

Both local and international media have covered the story of Australian Trent Shields and Baguio City taxi drive Reggie Cabututan. Both have been at the center of attention because of an act of honesty and an act of kindness. Pilipinas Popcorn sat down with both Shields and Cabututan recently to get the story behind it.

Trent Shields: ‘No 20,000 US Dollars’

During our chat with Shields, he clarified one piece of misinformation that was circulating in media. With regards to the news that he had 20,000 US dollars in his luggage, he said that this was false. Several international news sites picked this up and have since spread it around that he had close to 1M pesos in his bag.

Shields felt the need to clarify this immediately so he took to Facebook to do so. He did not carry such cash and he valued the contents of his bag to around 7,000 Australian dollars only. In his post, he also noted that the story about Reggie should be more about his honesty and integrity, rather than the amount in question.

Reggie Cabututan – An Honest Act Gets Rewarded

When we spoke to Reggie Cabututan, he still could not believe that a simple act could get so much attention. He humbly recalls, “Yun lang po ang ginawa ko, sinauli ko yung gamit na di naman sa akin. Di ko akalain na aabot sa ganito. (I only did what was right – to return something that was not mine. I cannot believe that it would come to this.)

He brought his whole family to meet Trent at Calle Uno Coworking Space. His wife also thanked Trent for what he has done for her husband.

More Than Just A Scholarship

News reports mentioned that Trent offered Reggie a scholarship to a six-month coding camp, and Reggie gladly accepted. The coding camp will run from June to December 2017 here in Baguio as a partnership with Coder Factory, Trent’s school in Australia and Vivixx Academy, owned by Ace Estrada. Valued at over PhP 200,000, the scholarship will allow Reggie to attend the course and possibly get hired by an Australian company after he finishes the course.

When Reggie met with Trent again, he conveyed that he was reluctant to take on the course because it will take him away from driving a taxi, which is the only source of income for his family of four. At this point, Trent told Reggie not to worry about it as Ace of Vivixx Academy and Calle Uno is working out an arrangement. This arrangement will be able to provide Reggie with a “salary” while he is attending the course, which his family can use for their daily needs. Upon hearing this, Reggie said that will be of great help, and that will help him pursue this all the more.

One Of A Kind Experience

As for Trent, he said this experience amazed him. He saw firsthand how social media can blow things up out of proportion. He also said that what he did for Reggie is something that he would have done anyway regardless of the publicity.

In Australia, aside from his work with Coder Factory, he also works with indigenous peoples communities in the country. Working with a group of indigenous youth, he wants to build a community of indigenous peoples who are able to make use of technology to solve problems. He hopes the same for his work here in the Philippines with Vivixx – that it will grow into something more than just teaching coding.