“Pag may isinuksok, may madudukot.”
This is a popular Filipino adage that means, “If you save something, you have something to get/withdraw.”
But one netizen was dismayed to find that his savings, placed inside a bamboo alkansiya, was eaten by termites! Ouch.
Photo credit: Facebook / Walwal
The bamboo alkansiya is popular among Filipinos, not just because it is cheap but also because it is harder to get your money out unless you break it.
Piggy banks you buy from the mall often have easy-to-open bottoms. While this is designed so you can reuse the piggy banks instead of throwing away after these are full, the design also makes it easier for you to get the money whenever you like it.
The downside to using a bamboo alkansiya, it turned out, is that your money could be eaten by termites! On Facebook page Walwal, someone shared photos of his paper bills defaced by termites. What’s so heartbreaking about this post is that there were several Php1,000 bills inside that bamboo alkansiya. Major ouch!
While the bamboo alkansiya was filled mostly with Php50 bills, there were also a number of Php100 bills. Most of the bills have been destroyed by the termites while a handful could still be saved.
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Do you think there’s still a chance that these bills can be salvaged? Perhaps cleaning up and some scotch tape could remedy the situation?
Luckily for this somewhat unlucky saver, the termites had not eaten everything. While most of the money was destroyed, there were still bits and pieces left of the bills. All he has to do now is clean these up and bring the money to the nearest Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) office.
The BSP office will readily provide him with new bills, in exchange for the damaged money.