SOUTHERN Leyte 2nd District Rep. Christopher “Coco” Yap is seeking to institutionalize basic financial literacy education in the K-12 Basic Education Curriculum, including its integration as a core subject in both junior and senior high school.

In House Bill 8591, or the proposed Financial Education and Literacy Act, Yap emphasized that financial literacy is an essential life skill that enables Filipino families to manage their finances wisely and build a more secure future.

He noted, however, that many young Filipinos enter adulthood without fundamental financial skills such as budgeting, saving, responsible borrowing, insurance awareness, and the safe use of digital financial services.

The proposed measure aims to strengthen financial education by introducing financial literacy as a core subject in junior and senior high school, while incorporating basic financial concepts at the elementary level.

It also mandates the Department of Education, in coordination with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Insurance Commission, to develop curriculum standards, teaching materials, and teacher training programs.

In addition, the bill calls for the establishment of a monitoring and evaluation system, including baseline studies, to assess improvements in students’ financial knowledge and skills.