Building on the success of its initial roadshow on the Be A Wise Saver campaign in Northern Luzon last year, the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation (PDIC) intensified its wise and responsible banking advocacy with its second roadshow held in Cebu. The roadshow hosted by the University of San Jose Recoletos (USJR) in Cebu City, was attended by about 1,000 students from USJR and the University of San Carlos. PDIC President Jose C. Nograles led the efforts to bring the Be A Wise Saver campaign to the Visayas, educating the public on basic saving know-how.

“It is my hope that the Be A Wise Saver campaign will help inculcate market discipline in depositors in the light of increased deposit insurance coverage,” Nograles said. The maximum deposit insurance doubled to P500,000 effective June 1, 2009, when the PDIC Charter was amended by Republic Act 9576. The PDIC President discussed the importance of advocating financial literacy and said that it is one means of providing depositor protection.

The Be A Wise Saver Campaign promotes the 7 Habits of a Wise Saver which aims to protect savers from fraudulent schemes. The seven habits are: Know your bank; Know your bank products; Know your bank’s services and fees; Keep your bank records safe and updated; Transact only inside the bank with authorized bank personnel; Be informed about PDIC deposit insurance; and Be cautious.

The PDIC first launched its financial literacy advocacy five years ago with its Financial Literacy Program (FLP), the first ever school-curriculum based financial literacy program in the country and the first such project initiated by a deposit insurer in the Asian region. It is a nationwide advocacy that informs the young people of the value of saving, the impact of savings mobilization to economic growth, and the PDIC’s role in helping maintain the stability in the banking system.

PDIC, in partnership with the Department of Education and the Commission on Higher Education, effectively integrated these lessons in the public and private high-school curriculum through economics and values education subjects, as well as colleges with courses in business administration. Around seven million students are expected to be financially educated every year through the project.

PDIC stepped up on its advocacy program this time, to promote responsible banking through the Be A Wise Saver roadshow. The first leg of the roadshow was held in Baguio City where students from the University of Baguio and the University of Cordillera participated.

The PDIC-led industry collaboration was formalized through a signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last June 17, 2009 with PDIC, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and practically the entire banking industry represented by the Bankers Association of the Philippines, Chamber of Thrift Banks, Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines, and the Bank Marketing Association of the Philippines. Comprising the panel of presentors for the Cebu Roadshow were Ms. Maria Leonida Fres-Felix, Vice President of Corporate Affairs Group of PDIC; and PDIC’s institutional partners represented by Assistant Governor Dolores Yuviengco of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas; President Joseph Omar Andaya of the Rural Bankers Association of the Philippines; Mr. Gary Mañalac of the Chamber of Thrift Banks; and Mr. Danilo S. Luna of the Cebu Bankers Club.