A gem of advice from a financial coach

PO2 Rogelio dela Torre and PO2 Daniel Mañaol of the Philippine National Police (PNP) Communications Electronics Service went to Paco Catholic School in Manila last week looking for 13-year-old Miguel (not his real name), a second year student of the school.

The two cops, who were in complete uniform, went directly to the boy’s classroom.

They asked the boy’s teacher to turn the boy over to them.

The teacher, thinking that Miguel was being arrested for a crime, readily turned the boy over to the two policemen.

Dela Torre is a cousin of a classmate of Miguel with whom he had a petty quarrel the previous day.

The two cops brought the boy to the principal’s office, with Dela Torre holding the boy by the nape.

This was witnessed by hundreds of the boy’s schoolmates.

Before reaching the principal’s office, Dela Torre allegedly punched the boy’s midsection and told him not to bully his cousin again.

The principal, Dina Abariso, was not in her office when the two cops came with the boy in tow.

The boy was still in a state of shock as of Friday.

It may take a long time for him to recover from the shock and may need professional help.

The boy’s father, a professor at Centro Escolar University, got sick after learning of the incident.

The mother, a housekeeper, didn’t know where to turn to since the school had not taken steps to address the problem, and so went to “Isumbong mo kay Tulfo,” a public service program on Radyo Inquirer (990 AM).

School officials at Paco Catholic should be held responsible for not protecting the boy while on campus.

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I came across this gem of advice from Inquirer’s Efren Ll. Cruz in his Money Matters column of  Aug. 31.

I’d like to share it with you.

“The best way to grow your savings and wealth (is) to give first. By giving away some, and not necessarily all, of your money first, cheerfully, faithfully, wisely and quietly, you are liberating yourself from money’s clutches … Giving away some money first is the only investment in the world with a return that is fully guaranteed.”

Cruz is not a hocus-pocus, voodoo man. He’s a registered financial planner, personal finance coach, investment adviser and best-selling author of business books.

By being generous to the least fortunate (i.e., giving to charitable agencies, for example), you open the floodgates of abundance to flow to you.

That’s what Cruz meant when he said giving away money “is the only investment in the world with a return that is fully guaranteed.”