A full-house audience of 95 members of the Filipino Community attended the Financial Literacy Seminar conducted on 24 February 2019 at the Philippine Consulate General by a team of high-level executives from government financial institutions who flew in from Manila to discuss savings and investment instruments in the form of retail treasury bonds (RTBs).
“As head of the Philippine Consulate General, one of my priority initiatives is to provide capacity building programs for Filipinos in the Territory, especially for OFWs,” highlighted Consul General Antonio A. Morales during his welcome remarks, using the popular acronym referring to the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs).
“With close to 230,000 Filipinos in Hong Kong, more than 211,000 or 92 percent of whom are household service workers, knowledge of managing finances is of utmost importance, given that many Filipinos in Hong Kong are their families’ breadwinners,” Consul General Morales said.
He also noted that financial literacy is equally important to prepare OFWs for their eventual return to the Philippines to be with their families and loved ones, and expressed hope that the knowledge gained in the seminar will be the start of a more financially-rewarding future for the attendees.
The seminar was keynoted by Deputy Treasurer Erwin D. Sta. Ana, from the Bureau of the Treasury of the Philippines, who underscored the role of overseas Filipinos as drivers of the Philippine economy and prosperity, with combined remittances amounted to US$32 billion in 2018, or 10 percent of the country’s GDP.
In this view, he further encouraged OFWs to participate in nation-building, as part of President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s inclusive growth strategy, through the Philippine government’s first online RTBs, which will be offered from 26 February to 8 March 2019. With a minimum of PHP5,000 investment, OFWs can invest in RTBs which in turn can form part of their long-term savings.
Mr. Francis Nicolas M. Chua, First Vice President of the Development Bank of the Philippines, followed up with a presentation on the various investment options, which includes RTBs. Mr. Gonzalo Benjamin A. Bongolan, First Vice President of Land Bank of the Philippines, then explained in detail the benefits and ease of investing in RTBs.
The Financial Literacy Seminar was held under the auspices of the Consulate’s gender and development (GAD) program, to implement Section 26 of RA 9710, Magna Carta of Women (MCW), which provides for the right of information regarding policies on women, including programs, projects and funding outlay, and Section 30: Women in Especially Difficult Circumstances and Section 31: Services and Interventions.
