The Senate on Tuesday approved on second reading a bill raising to P500,000 the maximum deposit insurance coverage of the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corp. (PDIC) from P250,000, a move intended  to shore up depositors’ confidence in the banking system.

Sen. Edgardo Angara, its principal sponsor, said the amendment to the PDIC charter aims to encourage depositors to keep their money in banks, knowing that their savings would be safe, intact and readily available on the faith and credit of the government.

During the period of amendments, Angara accepted a motion by Minority Leader Aquilino Pimentel Jr. requiring distressed banks availing themselves of PDIC bailout to automatically waive the confidentiality shield provided by the bank-secrecy law to enable regulators to examine their books.

Angara added that the increased P500,000 maximum deposit-insurance level covers at least 97.23 percent of the more than 31 million deposit accounts in the country.