Lolo Pepe saves the day

MANILA, Philippines - He is a jolly man, in a perennial ho-ho-ho mood, resembling Father Christmas. And like Santa, he is here to give gifts to children. But his gifts are lasting  he teaches schoolchildren the art of saving.

“There is nobility in sa-ving, however small,” says Jose Araullo, chairman of The Real Bank, a thrift bank. To the many children he has “indoctrinated” on financial literacy, he is better known as Lolo Pepe. In times of crisis, his wisdom for saving money has become all the more priceless.

Six years ago, Lolo Pepe’s laments centered on the lack of knowledge of schoolchildren to be frugal, to save money. With utmost dedication to make sure that children will learn financial literacy at an early age, he developed and implemented the “Bata…Bata…Mag-impok at Magsinop Comprehensive School Program.”

“This advocacy campaign raises the awareness of schoolchildren on the importance of cultivating the basic values of thrift, diligence, savings and honesty,” says Lolo Pepe.

Lolo Pepe, who learned to be thrifty and frugal at an early age, partnered with Marylindbert International, a 30-year-old relationship cum social marketing communications company, and together they came up with a series of three Anvil-winning books “Mga Kwento ni Lolo Pepe,” which tells real life stories of thrift and savings as experienced by Lolo Pepe. Real Bank and Marylindbert tied up with the Department of Education and the books were distributed for free to schools for children to read and enjoy.

The Bata…Bata…Mag-impok at Magsinop program started with only 25 elementary schools as pilot sites in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Region 4A. Over the years, the advocacy program grew and is already in 105 elementary schools in NCR, Region 3, Region 4A, Region 7 and Region 11. So far, half a million schoolchildren have benefited from the program.

Twenty high schools are also enrolled in the advocacy on promoting entrepreneurship and financial independence.

In its first years, Lolo Pepe recalls the program helped the schoolchildren with some teaching aids and materials that foster thrift and savings. As the program went along, “Mga Kuwento ni Lolo Pepe” story books were distributed to the schoolchildren enrolled in the program. Another sequel of “Mga Kwento ni Lolo Pepe” is coming out this school year.

It has been six years since Lolo Pepe started his advocacy. To this day, he still gets a high when “I get mobbed by students every time I visit them in their schools.” He gets doubly excited when students ask for his autograph.

In his school visits, Lolo Pepe always emphasizes the art of saving to students by using his own experience as example.

Lolo Pepe says his childhood is full of frugal yet soulful recollections. A year after World War II, he recalls, on his way home from school in Guagua, Pampanga, the eight-year-old Pepe stopped at a soda parlor and contemplated whether or not to buy a bottle of Coke. He only had 10 centavos in his pocket, the exact price of a bottle of soda. After a few minutes, he decided to walk home without giving in to his thirst. He reasoned that it would be best to save his money and just drink water at home. He never knew then that such discipline would lead him to become rich in more ways than one.

Lolo Pepe also loves to share with young minds how he and his siblings would keep a piggy bank each when they were young. Come Christmastime, the Araullo kids would break open their piggy banks. The one who saved the most money would get a prize. Little Pepe would always be the winner every year. “My father would always double the money that I saved. That was the prize.”

Because of the “Bata…Bata…Mag-impok at Magsinop Comprehensive School Program,” Lolo Pepe and Marylindbert have been recognized for their efforts. They have reaped the following awards: the Asian Banking Awards (runner up for marketing, PR and Brand Management Category); National Consumers Quality Award and Global Excellence Award in 2005; 23rd Year-ender Excellence and Consumers Choice Award (Outstanding Reading Materials on Thriftiness) and the Philippine Marketing Excellence Awards (Most Outstanding Family Heritage-Building Advocacy Program) in 2006; the 2007 National Quality Awards for Consumers Excellence, 26th Annual Year-Ender Awards and Expo; 2007 Top Consumer Products and Companies of the Year (Best National Heritage-Building Advocacy); 26th Annual Year-Ender Excellence Awards, 2007 Global Excellence Awards (Best National Heritage-Building Advocacy) in 2007; the 10th Annual Global Excellence Award 2008 (Best National Heritage-Building Advocacy given in Bangkok, Thailand); 2008 National Product Quality Excellence Awards (Best Comprehensive School Program).

They were also very proud to get the Bronze Anvil Award (Mga Kwento Ni Lolo Pepe Storybook) and Anvil Awards for Excellence Public Relations Tool (Special Publications) in 2008. Recently Lolo Pepe and Marylindbert bagged the Anvil Award of Merit and the International Quality Crown Award given in London.

Lolo Pepe’s advocacy on thrift and savings will now be on its second phase in the next six years. He intends to bring the program to a higher level, not just teaching thrift and savings but expanding the coverage to reach more children nationwide, give more books, have more storytelling sessions and also teach the children how to make piggy banks from discarded materials.

Lolo Pepe philosophizes that if one inculcates in the child’s mind the importance of saving, he will have a sense of nobility, of pride. If he can have a bank passbook and keep there whatever small amount he saves, Lolo Pepe believes that will empower the child.

Lolo Pepe says it has been his practice ever since to save 20 percent of what he earns. “After 10 years to 15 years, you will be amazed how much you were able to save. The art of saving enhances your character because it is a form of discipline. Saving is a way of life,” Lolo Pepe beams.