BSP replaces man’s termite-damaged peso bills worth P50,000

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MANILA, Philippines —Adonis Buemia delivered ice for a living for three decades.

In the course of this time, the 70-year-old was able to save enough to buy a house, a brand new tricycle, and even set aside almost P50,000 in cash from his daily income of P300.

Each day, he saved P100 from his takehome pay and tucked it away inside a cabinet in his home.

To his dismay, the solo parent and a primary caregiver to a special child later discovered that his cash stash literally disintegrated inside their hiding place the cabinet after termites feasted on them.

Desperate to save his hard-earned cash, Buemia commented on the Facebook account of a program in a local TV station for help. In turn, the program referred his case to the BSP.

In a statement, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ Currency Policy and Integrity Department (CPID) immediately pre-evaluated what was left of the termite-infested bills.

BSP Acting Deputy Director Nenette Malabrigo then contacted the bank nearest Buemia’s residence and endorsed the mutilated cash for replacement.

Earlier this month, Buemia received the replacement peso bills of his cash savings.

“I am very happy that my money was replaced and returned to me in full amount,” he said in Tagalog. “Thank you very much to [the bank] for accepting my money and cooperating with BSP. Thank you so much BSP for all your help in replacing my money.”

On Wednesday, the central bank reiterated that dilapidated peso bills could be replaced, subject to certain conditions.

To qualify for replacement of damaged paper currency, BSP’s regulations require that the size of the remaining bill should be 60 percent or three-fifths of their original size; a portion of any of the two facsimile signatures must still be seen or observed; and the windowed security thread must remain intact unless otherwise caused by fire, insect and any form of unintentional mutilation.

To avoid damage caused by termites, water, and other elements, the agency encouraged the public to keep their savings in BSP-supervised financial institutions where they will be safe and secure.

The BSP earlier issued a circular, which aims to enable Filipinos to facilitate payments and save money with ease, accessibility, convenience through the basic deposit accounts — affordable, no-frills and easy-to-open accounts that even those without valid IDs can apply using alternative documents or via the apps of selected banks.

These deposit accounts only require an opening deposit amount of P100 or less and have no maintaining balance nor dormancy charges, but may earn interest for depositors.

Further details on opening basic deposit accounts and the list of banks offering them may be found at the BSP website and its official Facebook account, the agency said.