17/08/2026
LEARN BEFORE EARNING 💰
“A financially literate Filipino is a protected investor,” SEC Chairperson Francis Lim said.
Filipino high school students could eventually have a dedicated subject teaching them how to budget, save, invest, borrow responsibly, and recognize financial scams.
The Securities and Exchange Commission has been pushing for financial literacy to become a core and mandatory subject in the Philippine high school curriculum and has been coordinating with Congress on the proposal.
Several measures filed in the House also seek to integrate basic financial literacy into junior and senior high school education, with proposals covering practical topics such as budgeting, saving, credit, debt management, investments, insurance, taxes, and protection from financial fraud.
The push comes as financial services become increasingly accessible to Filipinos.
According to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas’ latest financial inclusion data, 85% of Filipino households had at least one member with a formal financial account in 2025.
But access does not automatically mean mastery.
Around 60% of Filipino adults described themselves as financially literate, while 74% correctly answered at least half of six basic financial-literacy questions—highlighting the continuing need to strengthen practical financial knowledge and decision-making.
While legislation remains pending, the SEC has already revamped its free SEC Academy, an online learning hub offering resources on personal finance, responsible investing, entrepreneurship, capital markets, and avoiding investment scams.
The proposal is not yet law, meaning financial literacy has NOT yet become a mandatory standalone high school subject nationwide.
But if approved, students could begin learning one of adulthood’s most practical lessons before receiving their first salary: how to make informed decisions about money—and how to protect it.
