PUBLIC school teachers stand to benefit from the continued support from the Department of Education (DepEd) and BDO Network Bank (BDONB), particularly in equipping them with financial knowledge to help them achieve their personal goals.
For many teachers, gaining financial literacy helps them practice financial discipline and make informed decisions on budgeting, saving, and debt management.
On the importance of practical budgeting in particular, knowing where their money goes every month has taken so much stress off teachers’ shoulders already loaded with the daily grind of teaching. This knowledge assists in avoiding debt traps as they are able to manage and prioritize their expenses better.
Saving for future goals also gives teachers tools to start building funds for their imminent needs, including their retirement.
By being financially knowledgeable, public school teachers can also impart these money management strategies to their students.
“Here in DepEd, we’re looking for ways to train our teachers on financial literacy because they can’t teach that to their students if they themselves don’t know anything about it,” DepEd-National Capital Region Regional Director Jocelyn Andaya said. “Our teachers play a very crucial role in teaching financial literacy to our students. It’s important that at a young age, they (students) are already taught to be self-sufficient financially and know how to budget and plan for their future.”
She added that in partnership with BDO Unibank’s corporate social responsibility arm, BDO Foundation, financial seminars are held wherein pockets of teachers are trained—a crucial exercise since financial literacy is already part of school curriculum among elementary and high school students.
“Our next plan is to come up with an instrument to measure what level our teachers are in right now in terms of their own financial literacy. That’s where the private sector, such as BDO, can come in to help us not just by having more modules but by also capacitating our teachers. It should be a sustainable thing for us so that we will know the progress in say, three years’ or five years’ time,” Andaya added.
BDO Network Bank (BDONB)—the community banking arm of BDO Unibank—truly values the role teachers play as the backbone of education and the true heroes shaping the future of the next generation. BDONB said it is deeply honored to have the opportunity to partner with DepEd in supporting and empowering these educators, recognizing that when teachers thrive, so do their students, their communities, and the nation as a whole.
“The teachers are really the heroes. Day in and day out, they’re the ones who sometimes spend more time with our children. So it’s very important that we support them because it’s like supporting our own family. The success of the teachers will depend on the support they get not only from the government but even from the private sector,” said Alberto O. Quiogue, BDONB Senior Vice President and Salary Loans Group Head.
Through BDONB’s tailor-fit products, services and financial literacy seminars it regularly conducts, it is envisioned that teachers will be better equipped to reach their financial goals.
Quiogue added that teachers with sufficient knowledge and confidence in their own financial know-how will be able to do their jobs very well and not be mentally burdened by money-related problems.
“We believe that a financially sound teacher can function and be very efficient. Teachers who have many financial problems are the ones who get bogged down and can’t teach very well because there are many things in their minds,” he said. “The financial literacy program is helping them be more efficient. I think the most important thing that we promote to teachers is responsible borrowing and financial wellness. Every time we have an opportunity, we give them a little talk on financial wellness, how to achieve their financial goals by managing their money well, and knowing the difference between a good loan and bad loan.”
Always ready to support DepEd, all year round
But more than the products it offers, community engagements, and seminars it conducts, BDONB said its full support to DepEd’s cause can be gleaned from its unwavering commitment to the agency’s programs all year round, including as one of its corporate partners for the World Teachers’ Day celebration and other DepEd activities.
“We at BDO Network Bank, we’re always there to support the teachers and the many endeavors of DepEd. Any support that they need, we’re all out for them,” Quiogue said. “We support the Palarong Pambansa. We have the yearly Brigada Eskwela where we help clean, paint, and fix the schools. There’s also a program wherein at the beginning of the year, we give a lot of donations to the students and teachers. We’re always there to help them.”
