Philippine Government Funds Financial Literacy Seminars for Overseas Filipinos in Italy
ROME – The Philippine government is financing a sequence of financial literacy seminars aimed at educating thousands of Filipinos residing and employed in Italy, according to an announcement from the Philippine Embassy in Rome on Saturday. The embassy formalized the terms of reference for these seminars in collaboration with Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP) and Overseas Filipino Bank (OFBank) to instruct overseas Filipinos in financial matters.
According to News Releases by Philippines News Agency, Philippine Ambassador to Italy Neal Imperial stated that the Migrant Workers Office under the embassy is initially funding the seminars. LBP and OFBank will contribute by providing speakers and resource persons for the time being. The agreement, dated October 12 and signed at the Philippine Embassy, aims to educate overseas Filipinos on the fundamentals of saving, budgeting, and investment.
The financial literacy seminars will delve into various topics, including savings, budgeting, and investments; debt management; insurance as a form of investment; entrepreneurship; and the reintegration program by the Philippine government. The initiative aims to protect Filipinos from making poor investment choices and falling prey to scams. The target audience includes both overseas Filipinos and Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) interested in small business opportunities and investments but lacking the requisite knowledge.
Ambassador Imperial highlighted that these seminars are in line with the Philippine government’s endeavor to empower the 167,000 Filipinos in Italy. The program directly contributes to the objectives of a “inclusive, innovative and healthy Philippine financial sector,” as detailed in Chapter 11 of the Philippine Development Plan 2023-2028.
LBP President and CEO Lynette Ortiz encouraged overseas Filipinos and OFWs to open savings accounts through the OFBank Digital On-Boarding System with Artificial Intelligence for the benefits of online banking. OFBank President Randolph Montesa also participated in the signing of the agreement.