Parañaque City 2nd district representative-elect Brian Raymund Yamsuan is eyeing a “culture of financial literacy” for his constituents through his twin livelihood and employment programs.

Yamsuan, who served as Bicol Saro Party-list representative in the 19th Congress, said he will make financial literacy a key component of the training received by livelihood program beneficiaries in a bid to them make informed and responsible decisions about the funds they have received from the government. 

These include recipients of Yamsuan’s “Bigay Negosyo” and “Dagdag Puhunan Para sa Kabuhayan” programs, which he has been implementing in his home district in coordination with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) and the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), respectively. 

“Ang layunin natin ay maging ‘wais’ ang bawat Parañaqueño sa paghawak ng kanilang pera, simula dito sa distrito dos (Our goal is to make every Parañaqueno handle their money wisely, starting here in district two)," he said.

"Many people think that financial literacy is a daunting, complex idea. We will partner with private sector groups to simplify and explain financial concepts so that they would be easy to understand and put into practice,” Yamsuan noted. 

“Kasama na sa financial literacy program ang pagtuturo sa kanila kung paano mag-budget, mag-ipon, mag-invest, humiram ng karagdagang pondo at magkaroon ng kaalaman tungkol sa mga financial products and services na maari nilang gamitin para mapalago ang kanilang maliit na negosyo," explained the former Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) secretary.

(Included in the financial literacy program is teaching them how to budget, save, invest and borrow additional funds and other knowledge about financial products and services that they can use to expand their small businesses.)

"Developing a culture of financial literacy should be our first step towards financial inclusion where every Filipino, regardless of his economic status, has easy and affordable access to financial services,” he added.  

Yamsuan said he is also planning to include “ayuda” or cash aid beneficiaries in his financial literacy program. 

“The government allocates billions of pesos each year under the national budget to fund livelihood programs and provide ‘ayuda’ to our low-income countrymen. Financial literacy will not only help recipients of these support programs make rational decisions about the money they receive, but will also mean less ‘ayuda’ and other forms of social protection going to waste due to poor financial decisions,” he said. 

Being financially literate, Yamsuan said, would also protect Filipinos from being victims of scams, especially those that have proliferated online.