ANGELES CITY – A financial wellness meet for Central Luzon teachers dubbed, “CBS DepEd Venture 2.0: Alay sa Mga Guro,” was held at the Grand Palazzo Royale here on Friday.
The program, which was attended by hundreds of teachers, was formally opened by Dr. Beatriz G. Torno, Department of Education (DepEd) Region 3 director, who said the activity was in response to calls by education officials and economic managers for initiatives to promote personal finance education.
The attendees include over 500 principals, teachers and non-teaching staff representing public elementary school teachers and high schools in the province of Bulacan, Pampanga, Bataan, Tarlac, Zambales and Nueva Ecija who joined the intensive course in money management.
According to Neil Jumawan, group head of China Bank Savings (CBS) lending unit automatic payroll deduction, CBS DepEd Venture 2 is a continuation of the same program which launched last year.
“This activity is a culmination of the whole program that we launched in partnership with DepEd on the side of financial wellness,” Jumawan said.
“The government has been calling for partners in the private sector to really help in the financial management aspect of their employees especially DepEd,” he explained.
“So, this is the culmination since we rolled out in three different cities already from as far as Tuguegarao and Davao and the Visayas,” he added.
Jumawan pointed out that the program is a corporate social responsibility (CSR) of CBS and the loan is the other side.
“We get lecturers that are expert in their fields to help out and give talks and pointers on how to personally manage their (teachers) finances,” he said.
Some of the topics include how to prepare for the future, when to borrow money, the responsibility of borrowing and the importance of savings among others, he said.
Jumawan said CBS is a DepEd accredited loan provider where teachers can borrow up to P1 million.
“CBS is the only DepEd loan provider that offers a loan that has insurance which is bundled free to the borrower which means that whatever happens to the borrower, we will make sure its fully paid,” he explained.
Jumawan said the beneficiary will receive the benefits and CBS is the only provider which offers insurance from Manulife Insurance.
IA Pino, teacher 1 from the Maimpis Integrated School in the City of San Fernando, said the program is very timely.
“I learned how to manage our budget since I have nobody to turn to because I am a single parent and I have a Grade 5 child. Sometimes I am at a lost on what to prioritize, so I learn how to cope with that,” she said.
With the DepEd and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas underscoring the need to enhance financial knowledge among Filipinos, CBS rolled out the nationwide CBS Financial Wellness Roadshow on September 6. The CBS Financial Wellness Roadshow is the ongoing advocacy program on personal finance for public school teachers, with whistle stops in 13 cities including the Visayas and Mindanao regions.
The program took off from the successful DepEd Venture financial wellness event organized last year in Manila in partnership with the DepEd.
CBS DepEd Venture 2.0 served to highlight the bank’s nationwide advocacy program. This year’s meet was anchored on the seminar “Charting the Course of your Financial Life” and featured financial adviser Rex Mendoza, president and CEO of Rampver Financials.
Takeaways from the seminar were practical skill sets for making smart financial decisions, conserving family assets, and preparing for worry-free retirement.
DepEd Undersecretary Victoria M. Catibog read a message on behalf of Secretary Leonor M. Briones.
