More than a million government workers in agencies all over the Philippines stand to benefit from a partnership forged by BDO Foundation, the Civil Service Commission and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.
The corporate social responsibility arm of BDO Unibank, the government’s central human resource agency and the central bank recently inked an agreement paving the way for the deployment of a program that will help equip civil servants with the knowledge, resources and tools to achieve financial freedom.
The memorandum was signed by BDO Foundation president Mario Deriquito, BDO Foundation trustee and corporate secretary Lazaro Jerome Guevarra, CSC chairperson Alicia Dela Rosa-Bala, CSC commissioner Leopoldo Valderosa Jr. and BSP deputy governor Cyd Tuaño-Amador representing BSP governor Benjamin Diokno.
Held at the Batasan Pambansa Complex in Diliman, Quezon City, the MOA signing and launch of the financial education program for civil servants were witnessed by BSP deputy governor Chuchi Fonacier and BSP Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy managing director Pia Roman Tayag, as well as BDO Foundation independent trustee Felina Arellano and BDO Foundation program director Rose Espinosa.
At the event attended by stakeholders from the foundation, CSC and Bangko Sentral, the partners affirmed their commitment to the nationwide implementation of the program and the development of new financial literacy interventions.
Part of the multi-sectoral collaboration, which supports BSP’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion, is the mainstreaming of the existing financial education resources developed by BDO Foundation and BSP in CSC’s training and development programs.
Initially, the financial education program will be integrated in the training sessions conducted by CSC for its officers, new employees, retiring employees and other personnel all over the country.
Subsequently, it will be rolled out in the entire government bureaucracy and embedded in the regular training programs for civil servants across all agencies.
The partners will explore the inclusion of financial education in CSC’s civil service eligibility assessments and performance evaluation systems.
“This corporate citizenship initiative helps strengthen the capability of CSC and other government agencies to provide financial education to government workers,” Deriquito remarked.
“Together with CSC and BSP’s Center for Learning and Inclusion Advocacy, BDO Foundation will deploy relevant training resources on such topics as saving, investing, debt management, entrepreneurship and avoiding scams, among many others.
“Through our partnership, we will extend the benefits of our financial education program to all personnel in the entire government bureaucracy. Ultimately, our goal is to help civil servants achieve financial independence,” he said.
According to the Inventory of Government Human Resources of CSC, over one million civil servants in various government agencies are expected to benefit from the tripartite initiative.
Adding the beneficiaries of the ongoing financial education program of BDO Foundation, the Department of Education and BSP for public school teachers and non-teaching personnel, the partnership project with CSC is expected to reach a total of around 1.8 million civil servants all over the country.
The collaboration with the commission is the latest forged by BDO Foundation in line with its financial inclusion advocacy.
Together with BSP, the foundation also partnered with DepEd, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration and Philippine Army for financial education programs for public schools; overseas Filipino workers and their families; and soldiers, officers and civilian personnel of the army.