CAVITE – A couple’s ten months' worth of savings turned to discolored bills riddled with tears and holes after they kept them in a makeshift jar made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe.
Photo courtesy of Ma. Louiena Lopez (MANILA BULLETIN)
Ma. Louiena Lopez of Naic posted photos of the damaged bills on Facebook on Monday, Jan. 15., warning netizens about their experience.
Lopez, a housewife and mother of twin girls, told the Manila Bulletin that she and her construction worker husband started saving money in the improvised cash can in Feb. 2023.
Her husband made the money jar himself which they kept in their closet.
Photo courtesy of Ma. Louiena Lopez (MANILA BULLETIN)
The couple opened the container on Dec. 5, hoping to get cash for the medical expenses of their daughter, who has a heart ailment. Their child was due for a follow-up checkup and a two-dimensional echocardiography or 2D echo diagnostic procedure.
“'Di namin akalain na pagbukas namin ay inamag na po siya at parang kinalawang kasi halo po barya noon. At punit-punit, butas-butas na po (We did not expect when we opened the jar that the bills would look molded and rusted as they were kept along with coins. The bills were torn and with holes),” Lopez said on Thursday, Jan. 18.
In total, the couple was able to save more or less P36,000. Around P2,000 of the money was in coins, while P34,000 were in P1,000 denominations.
Exchanging the bills at the BSP
Out of the P34,000 bills, the couple had no choice but to throw away P2,000 that had been damaged.
Lopez' husband took the remaining P32,000 to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to be exchanged.
“Napalitan naman po ung P19,000. Kaso 'yung iba po, hindi po napapalitan pa, tatawagan na lang daw po kami. (They exchanged the P19,000. They have yet to exchange the rest, they said they will call us),” Lopez said.
Photo courtesy of Ma. Louiena Lopez (MANILA BULLETIN)
Although Lopez’s husband has an automated teller machine card where he receives his salary, they prefer to save the old-fashioned way.
“Kasi po 'pag sa bangko, hassle pa po kasi minsan mahaba po pila (Because if it is in the bank, it can be a hassle sometimes because the lines can be long.”
As they wait to get their remaining P13,000 back, Lopez says they hope other people will learn from their mistake.
“Sagad po sa overtime mister ko, halos hindi na po umuwi sa'min para malaki maisahod niya (My husband has been working overtime to the maximum, hardly ever coming home, so he could earn a bigger salary),” Lopez shared.
“'Wag na sana nilang gawin na mag-alkansya sa alanganing lagayan po tulad ng PVC pipe kasi baka masayang lang ang inipon (I hope others do not resort to using containers like PVC pipes for a piggy bank as it might just lead to their savings going to waste).”