“Kapag may isinuksok, may madudukot.”

For many, the wisdom of this Filipino proverb has never rung truer than at the height of the COVID 19 pandemic last year. Lockdowns all over the world have practically brought many national economies to a grinding halt, the financial consequences of which were very severe.

Many Filipinos were either retrenched or forced to close their businesses. As a result, they lost most, if not all, of their regular sources of income.

While many got mired in financial distress, many were also able to stay afloat and continued to meet their needs despite meaningful losses in earnings. What was the difference?

Savings.

More Than Just the Habit

Acquiring the habit of saving money is just half of achieving financial security, especially during rare but severe economic crises. The other half is making sure they’re securely stored in a place that’s protected against theft, natural calamities, and accidental damages or losses, instead of just keeping them in coin banks or other containers at home. And that place is a bank.

But given the importance of saving money in banks for achieving financial security, most Filipino adults still don’t have bank accounts. In the latest Financial Inclusion Survey conducted by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas in 2019, only 12.2% of the adult respondents who were at least 15 years old said they have a bank account.

With a low percentage of the population saving money in banks, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) recognized the need to educate and encourage more Filipinos to do the same. In this regard, the country’s state deposit insurer took the lead in promoting savings consciousness through its latest Depositor Protection Awareness Week (DPAW) campaign.

Maniguro, Magbangko: Depositor Protection & Awareness Week (DPAW) 2021

“Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family.” – former U.N. Secretary-General

Knowledge and application of basic financial skills are critical components in achieving financial security and prosperity. Saving money in a bank is the most important of these, which is why PDIC staunchly advocates financial literacy.

In leading the national observance of DPAW, PDIC aims to equip as many Filipinos as possible with basic financial skills by encouraging those who don’t have deposit accounts yet to start saving money in banks.

For this year’s DPAW observance, PDIC stepped up its multimedia campaign with practical financial tips. PDIC President and CEO Roberto B. Tan said that the campaign aims to promote financial inclusion among Filipinos from all walks of life; and help them become familiar with PDIC and the benefits and limitations of deposit insurance.

“The pandemic highlighted the importance of having some form of savings during the strict quarantine periods. Admittedly, those who were able to set aside some funds were the ones who were able to weather the impact of disruption in businesses and financial flows. In this PDIC campaign, we want to impart the value of saving their money in a bank where it is safe from loss, theft, and other threats like natural disasters; and that as deposit insurer, PDIC assures the depositing public that their deposits are protected by deposit insurance up to PhP500,000 per depositor per bank.” said the PDIC President.

To encourage unbanked Filipinos from all walks of life to open bank accounts, the radio and TV advertisements highlighted the importance of saving, the benefits of saving money in a basic bank account and how easy it is to open one. Some of the highlighted advantages of having a basic bank account included having enough money for future needs and being able to conveniently perform digital transactions such as cashless payments, online purchases, and fund transfers, with very low initial deposit requirement of only Php100, in many participating banks.

To watch the TV commercials and listen to the radio advertisements, visit PDIC’s Depositor Protection and Awareness page at https://www.pdic.gov.ph/dpaw and click on the Multimedia Resources link.

Synergy of Purpose

The successful nationwide observance of the Depositor Protection and Awareness Week wouldn’t have been possible without the reliable support from government and private partners, the media and the banking sector through banks and bank associations. Leveraging on their Facebook accounts and official websites that have millions of followers combined, partner organizations helped the state deposit insurer promote the benefits and ease of opening bank accounts to as many un-banked Filipinos as possible and to emphasize the value of saving to the public.

Maniguro, mag-impok, at mag-deposito sa bangko!

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