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CEBU CITY, Philippines - His father taught him to save 20 percent of his earnings every month.
Real Bank chairman Jose G. Araullo said he followed his father’s advice and never experienced a financial crisis.
Remembering childhood lessons on being thrifty, Araullo is now bent on encouraging public school students the value of saving.
“I was trained that way. My parents instilled in me the importance of saving money. I thought this is a very good lesson and I want to impart this to students,” Araullo told reporters on Monday.
Such childhood values have become a catalyst for a nationwide advocacy campaign to encourage public school students to save part of their allowance in a bank
Araullo led education and bank officials in the launching of the bank's “Bata... Bata... Mag-impok at Magsinop” program at the Mandaue City Central school.
“This is not a financial proposition. We are just trying to help the country. Teaching thriftiness to students is the contribution of the bank to nation building,” he said.
In his speech, he mentioned his father’s practical advice to him.
Araullo encouraged students to save money, which they can use as capital to invest after they graduate.
“We should open the minds of the students to be entrepreneurs and not just be employees,” Araullo said. “Opportunities will come if you have starting capital.”
Real Bank offers kiddie savings program where a minimum of P100 can be deposited.
According to the bank's first vice president Anna Lisa Ochoa, they are not expecting income from the program for school children.
“We are aware that a child does not have money of his own and that it will take a long time for them to have money,” she said.
“For children 12 years and below, they can start with P100 and their savings can earn interest of up to 5 percent if their savings reach P500,” she added.
The bank also provides children their own piggy banks.
“They can give this to the teller, who will then count the contents and then return it to the child,” she said.
But Ochoa and Araullo stressed that students who want to save do not have to do so at Real Bank.
“You can deposit it in other banks. What we are after is to be able to teach the value of saving money,” Araullo said.
He added that the bank is studying two possible locations for Cebu-based branches this year.
The savings program is a tie-up among Real Bank, the Department of Education and Marylindbert International.
In the program, the bank provides the work books, story books and teaching guides for the school.
The program has been implemented in 15 public schools in the National Capital Region or 90 schools nationwide.
The curriculum-based advocacy dwells on the value of thriftiness, enhanced the graders’ knowledge and teaches the pupils the importance of saving.
Jonathan Paiug, operations manager of Marylindbert International, said schools are the target of the program because this is where the children spend more than half of their time during the day.
“The school is the place where students learn about values,” he added.
