Filipino Teachers to Receive Financial Education Training in Visa’s Financial Literacy Program

Visa, the world leader in payment technologies, will be expanding its financial literacy efforts in the country this year, in partnership with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Teach for the Philippines (TFP) and Tanghalang Pilipino (TP). Aside from the financial literacy efforts, there is a glimpse of the play the Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog (Crumpled, Round), a financial literacy play featuring national heroes such as Apolinario Mabini and Jose Rizal was developed with TP, the resident drama company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) presented in today's event, September 12, 2018 happened at the Power Mac Center Spotlight in Circuit Makati.

In addition to the second tour of Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog, a financial literacy theater production that was launched last year, a teacher-training component will be introduced as part of the program. The theater play was designed to educate Filipino youths about the value of money and importance of financial management. The play was performed in several schools around Metro Manila and reached close to 6,000 students, teachers, government agency employees and public within a few months.

This year, Visa aims to create a larger impact by introducing a teacher-training program that will educate teachers under TFP’s network. They will gain financial literacy knowledge, and learn from TFP trainers how to integrate concepts of financial literacy into their lesson plans. Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog will also be produced in a digital format so that teachers can use the play as a teaching tool in the classroom. This will also ensure that more Filipino students in the country have access to this theater production.

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“Financial literacy is a key area of focus for us at Visa, and it is also aligned with the country’s priority - to equip all Filipinos with money management knowledge because it is such an important life skill. Through our partnership with Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Teach for the Philippines and Tanghalang Pilipino, we have created a powerful outreach program to scale our financial literacy efforts. This year, our aim is to reach out to more students through the theater production, and also empower teachers to introduce financial literacy into their teaching curriculum. This program will echo the central bank’s effort in ensuring more Filipinos are empowered with knowledge to make critical money management decisions that will transform their lives,” said Stuart Tomlinson, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam.

“Teach for the Philippines is most excited to expand our partnership with Visa. This year, we fully integrate financial literacy children’s workshops and educator trainings into the organization’s Life Skills Program, Batang Bayani. This program reaches out to public elementary schools in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and we aim to train some 2,000 Filipino learners nationwide by training our trainers and directly impacting our learners,” said Patricia Feria-Lim, Teach for the Philippines’ Chief Strategy Officer.

“At Teach for the Philippines, we believe that programs which incorporate financial literacy, environmental education, theater arts, and academics develop our students for the future.  We look forward to a continued partnership with Visa, Tanghalang Pilipino, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and the Department of Education to bring our Filipino learners and educators closer to their full potential and enable them to contribute meaningfully to nation building,” added Patricia. 

The announcement program included a live preview of selected scenes from the play, which will be used during class discussions. 

“In these scenes, teachers will ask questions that spark critical thinking and challenge the youths’ perception of money. We anticipate that students will enjoy and learn a lot from this material that we have jointly created with TFP,” said Nanding Josef, Tanghalang Pilipino Artistic Director. 

These initiatives are aligned with the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion led by BSP. To address the issue early on and in anticipation of the first batch of senior high school (SHS) graduates in 2018, both BSP and DepEd have integrated financial literacy modules in the K-12 curriculum. Such lessons directly benefit SHS graduates seeking employment or business ventures and introduce younger students to the basics of financial literacy.

“We at the BSP share the same belief that financial education should be introduced very early on so that we can prepare the youth for the real world and help them create a good life for themselves,” said Pia Roman-Tayag, Head of the Inclusive Finance Advocacy Office, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

“We have a big task ahead of us - creating a truly financially inclusive society. We are glad to be working with Visa under the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion. With innovative programs such as this, we trust that we can make concrete progress towards our goals,” added Pia.

For more information, visit www.visa.com.ph, http://visaapnews.asia/ and @VisaNews.