A government official urged Negrenses to save in a bank where it is safe from fire and theft.

Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) Vice President for Corporate Affairs Group, Jose Villaret Jr. said a bank uses money deposited for business to generate income and give interest to depositors.

During the “PDIC 101: Understanding Deposit Insurance” for local media at L’Fisher Hotel, Villaret said the money saved in a bank is insured up to P500,000 “that can make you sleep well,” he said.

He noted that the total deposits in the Philippine banking system amount to P19.1 trillion as of the end of March 2024. Of the number, 18.5 percent are insured deposits or P3.53 trillion.

The total deposit accounts reached 126.2 million covering the same period where about 97.5 percent are fully insured, he added.

He also urged Negrenses to save, because saving money is not only for the rich but also for the poor. He cited World Bank gross domestic savings data for the Philippines, showing Filipinos used to save as much as 16.5 percent of their money in 2017, but sharply fell to only 9.1 percent in 2022.

The figure, 19.1 percent, is the lowest gross domestic savings compared to other ASEAN countries where Singapore has 60.1 percent, Indonesia 39.3 percent, Malaysia 30.7 percent, and Thailand 27.7 percent, a PowerPoint presentation showed.

“Savings are for everybody. We save money to allot for things we don’t see,” he said.

According to Villaret, a depositor should choose a bank run by trustworthy people with a good reputation. They should also know the bank’s products and policies, he added.

He further said depositors should keep their bank records safe and updated and be vigilant on “too good to be true” interest rates that could put them in trouble.

PDIC advocates to empower every Filipino through financial literacy, he said.

“We don’t only want to be known as a ‘prophet of doom’ that we are in an area where there is a potential or real bank closure. We assure the public that PDIC is here to protect your money in the banks.” (PIA-6 Negros Occidental)