Financial planning education for teachers pushed

Camarines Sur Rep. Gabriel Bordado Jr. has filed a bill seeking to educate public elementary and high school teachers on proper money handling skills to help them attain financial security.

Bordado’s House Bill (HB) No. 6528, or the proposed Financial Planning Education for Teachers Act of 2022, aims to enable teachers to “optimize their savings and secure a more solid financial position” through regular seminars.

“Teachers are given the important responsibility not only of educating the nation’s youth but also with aiding in their growth and development into law-abiding and valuable members of society,” the lawmaker said.

“But despite heavy responsibility entrusted to our teachers, their own well-being, particularly upon their retirement, is often insecure. Many teachers are unaware of the options and ways they could improve their own financial security,” he noted.

Through a financial planning education program, public elementary and high school teachers would be taught the various financial options available to them.

HB 6528 provides, “All public elementary and high school teachers in the country shall be given access to information on available financial products in the market,” and would mandate the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to come up with a regular schedule of financial seminars.

Through the seminars, public school teachers would be “properly informed of and educated on the available financial products/options in the market, their characteristics and the risks involved with the objective of helping them optimize their savings, thereby putting them on a better financial foothold.”

The bill further provides, “The DepEd shall see to it that said teachers shall attend at least the first scheduled seminar whereby the rationale of the whole financial education program shall be explained, among others.”

Funds necessary for the conduct of regular financial seminars would be included in the annual General Appropriations Act. INQ

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