Amando M Tetangco, Jr: Developing a new generation of savers with the
program "Banking on Your Future"
Speech by Mr Amando M Tetangco, Jr, Governor of the Central Bank of the Philippines
(Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas), at the 16th Anniversary of the Central Bank of the Philippines,
Manila, 3 July 2009.
* * *
Former BSP Governor Gabriel Singson, Monetary Board Members, our partners from the
banking community, our guests from the Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School, fellow central
bankers, members of the media, special guests, good afternoon.
On behalf of the Monetary Board, I thank all of you for joining us today as we celebrate the
16th anniversary of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas. With the signing of our agreements this
afternoon, we are on track to institutionalize our economic and financial education program
for Filipino children.
This program is important to us. We at the Bangko Sentral believe that persons literate in
basic economic and financial concepts stand to benefit more from opportunities that
development brings. And we believe that our elementary education system is the best place
to start.
With our Memorandum of Agreement with the Department of Education, lessons on saving
and money management have been incorporated into the curriculum of 12 million public
elementary students where 90% of our elementary pupils study, beginning schoolyear
20082009. Last week, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas signed a Memorandum of Agreement with
the Coordinating Council of Public Educators Association also for the inclusion of economic
and financial concepts in private elementary school curriculum.
Today, the launching of this savings promotion program "Banking on Your Future" brings the
banking sector fully on board our financial education program for millions of Filipino children.
Actually, we are looking at generating synergies from this program. We believe that saving
as a habit can best be developed among schoolchildren who wield a strong influence in their
homes and communities. Through the children, therefore, we hope to reach out to their
parents, including the unbanked.
Equally important, we believe that informed Filipinos make for better partners in ensuring that
we have a sound banking system and a more efficient transmission mechanism for our
monetary policy actions. They also wise up to financial scams. In the process, they help
sustain balanced economic growth. This is the philosophy that underpins our economic and
financial education program. We all know how resilient we Filipinos are. Given the right tools,
there is much more we can do.
The program "Banking on your Future" is therefore an important component of our economic
and financial education program. The support of the Banking Sector for this program is
essential as you are the practitioners and therefore the ideal mentors to work with the youth
regarding financial education. The key is knowledge sharing.
We do look forward to banks and its branches to get involved in their neighbor elementary
schools to mount parallel financial education activities and to reward best performing schools
and students with prizes including savings account. The idea is to make it hip and cool for
our students to have savings account that they can nurture and grow. This way, they develop
the habit of saving on a regular basis.
Aasahan po nang ating mga kabataan ang programang ito, kasama na ang ating mga
bisitang mag-aaral mula sa Aurora A. Quezon Elementary School. There are about 38,000
elementary schools there are about 7,000 bank offices and branches. I hope we can cover
most, if not all of these schools.
Ladies and gentlemen. The 16th anniversary of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas also
coincides with the celebration of National Savings Consciousness Week. For this year, our
theme is particularly appropriate: "Kinabukasan Siguruhin, Pag-iimpok Ugaliin."
It is only fitting therefore that together we launch the program "Banking on Your Future" on
this auspicious day.
Mabuhay ang Philippine Banking Sector! Mabuhay ating mga kabataan!
Maraming salamat po sa inyong lahat.