Cebuana Lhuillier Foundation, Inc. (CLFI) on Thursday raised concerns over the dearth of economic inclusion amongst Filipino youth, stemming from poor financial literacy.
“BSP’s (Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas) record is showing that only 27% of the youth aged from 15 to 19 are financially included,” CLFI Executive Director Jonathan D. Batangan told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
“It shouldn’t be 27% only. In a matter of 1 or two years, we hope to extend the variety of financially included youth,” he added.
Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) President Manuel M. Muhi echoed the identical concern, underscoring the “hundreds of thousands” of Filipino youth excluded from the formal economic system.
“Many still don’t have access to basic financial services equivalent to savings accounts, insurance, or digital payment platforms,” he said in his speech. “Without financial access, opportunities are delayed, dreams are deferred, and progress becomes uneven.”
“We imagine that financial literacy and access are only as transformative as a diploma,” he added.
In 2024, CLFI first launched the financial literacy module for Grade 12 students on the University of Makati (UMak). The self-paced five modules, which take about five days to complete, cover topics equivalent to personal finance, microinsurance, microinvestment, microloans, money transfers, and green and digital finance.
“It’s a self-paced, downloadable program which is definitely on the own pace of the scholars they usually can, at the tip of the day, get a certification,” Mr. Batangan said.
“They may have a certificate for being financially literate. It adds to the celebrated fame of the graduating student,” he added.
In partnership with PUP and the Philippine Association of State Universities and Colleges (PASUC), the CLFI goals to expand its financial literacy program to SUC students to assist produce roughly two million financially literate graduates.
“We hope the members of the Philippine Association of State Colleges and Universities, after all, PUP being also a member, can have the opportunity to trickle this all the way down to almost 120 SUCs (state universities and colleges),” Mr. Batangan said.
“We’re starting with SUCs (state universities and colleges) because these are the scholars who got here from the marginalized sector; they’re those we want to show financial literacy,” he added.
A 2024 report by consumer insights company Inquiro found that the Philippines’ financial literacy rates remain low, with about 25% of Filipinos understanding basic financial concepts.
The report added that although the country’s literacy has increased by around 5% since 2020, it still lags behind other Southeast Asian countries, equivalent to Malaysia and Singapore, where literacy rates exceed 50%.— Almira Louise S. Martinez