A year’s worth of cash savings was rendered unusable after termites consumed paper banknotes worth P25,000, according to a man who documented the damage online.
Cirilo Bitang posted a video showing fragments of P500 bills that had been stored inside a wooden box placed in a locker. He said the money had been set aside over the course of a year and was kept in what he believed was a secure location.
Bitang explained that the bills were intact the last time he checked them during the final week of November. When he opened the box again on December 19, the notes had already been eaten by termites.
He also reported finding termite activity in a nearby room divider positioned close to where the locker stood, suggesting the insects had spread within the area.
Not all the money was affected. Bitang noted that the P500 polymer banknote among the stored cash showed no visible damage from the termites.
Under guidelines issued by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, damaged banknotes may still be exchanged depending on their condition. The central bank requires that at least 60 percent of a bill’s original size remains, with identifiable signatures and a visible security thread, for it to qualify for replacement.
