By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
In line with its efforts to further strengthen its financial literacy initiative for both learners and teachers, the Department of Education (DepEd) continues to partner with organizations for various projects.
DepEd, led by Secretary Leonor Briones and other DepEd officials, recently received the second set of financial literacy videos from Banco de Oro (BDO) Foundation and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) during the turnover ceremonies at the DepEd Central Office in Pasig City.
The Department of Education (DepEd) receives the second batch of financial literacy videos from Banco de Oro (BDO) Foundation and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas during a turnover ceremony on Wednesday, March 13, 2019, in Pasig City. (DEPED / FACEBOOK / MANILA BULLETIN)
The turnover event was pursuant to the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) signed on May 28, 2018 among DepEd, BDO Foundation, and BSP. “The first set of financial videos focused on the why’s and how’s of saving,” DepEd said. “These are already uploaded to the DepEd online learning portal and are now being used for classroom instruction and teacher trainings nationwide,” it added.
DepEd explained that the second batch of five financial literacy videos for teachers and learners will “focus on the topics of budgeting and financial management, investing, avoidance of scams, managing indebtedness, and entrepreneurship.”
Huge challenge
Briones said that addressing the issue of financial literary is big challenge for the department. “This is huge challenge for us,” she said. “For me, we can talk about financial literacy, we can talk about money in a very rational way, the way economists do it, but we will have to look at the sociology, the cultural side of it,” she added.
Another consideration, Briones said, is to look into possible reasons behind the spending and “what makes people spend more than their income.” She added that it would also help if the department is able to find out “why do people save why is it that others save and others don’t?”
Briones also noted that at any rate, “it's not enough to say that the task is difficult, that this has been going on for hundreds of years.”
While Filipinos have a “history of not saving, we have a history of overspending – we have a history of 'bonggaciouness,’ she pointed out the need to change history.
“The point is not only to know history—our history of being spendthrift, of being financially illiterate — the point is to change it,” she added.
Aside from Briones, also present in the activity were DepEd Undersecretary for Finance Annalyn Sevilla, Undersecretary for Legislative Liaison, External Partnerships, and Project Management Tonisito Umali, Esq., Assistant Secretary for Curriculum and Instruction Alma Ruby Torio, other DepEd officials, BDO Foundation President Mario Deriquito, BSP Managing Director Pia Bernadette Roman Tayag, and representatives from BDO and BSP.