Western Union pledges $220,000 for nationwide financial literacy campaign

MANILA – The philanthropic arm of Western Union and its agents Petnet and eBusiness Services last week helped launch a nationwide financial literacy campaign with a $220,000 pledge.

In a statement, Western Union Foundation said “Peso-sense” is meant to increase financial literacy by promoting productive expenditure, greater savings and entrepreneurship among recipients of remittances. The campaign, which started with the “Peso-Sense at Christmas” module, will target students, young adults, entrepreneurs, homemakers and retirees.

“Western Union’s consumers are ambitious and resourceful and their most important aspiration is to secure their financial future, increase their standard of living and improve their level of education,” said Western Union Foundation president Patrick Gaston.

“However, for too many, their dreams are delayed or out of reach. What they lack is the encouragement, training and tools to accelerate their aspirations through innovation and new ways of thinking. The Western Union Foundation’s mandate is about empowering people to reach their destination through education and knowledge. Our funding of Peso-Sense is about making the journey easy to inspire individual innovation and entrepreneurship,” he said.

The Commission on Filipinos Overseas will implement the campaign with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme.

 “Our overseas Filipinos deserve their financial freedom considering the blood, sweat and tears they have invested while working and living outside the country.  Collaborative initiatives between the government of the Philippines, corporate sector and inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations are crucial to helping them achieve their individual goals and we thank Western Union for initiating this multi-stakeholder campaign,” said Commission Secretary Imelda Nicolas.

According to research conducted by Ipsos and sponsored by Western Union, two-thirds of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who send money home were unsatisfied with how their beneficiaries spend the remittance, most of which ends up paying for food, education and debt. The study further showed that nine out of 10 respondents agreed that a financial literacy campaign would benefit them.

“Financial literacy is an essential component of access to inclusive financial services. It can assist in developing inclusive financial markets by empowering the poor to evaluate options and take responsibility for their financial decisions by choosing products and services best suited to their capacities and needs,” UNDP Philippines country director Toshihiro Tanaka said.

“Growth becomes inclusive when the poor participate in the growth process and share the benefits. With financial literacy, this participation in the growth process can become a reality as the poor develop their capacity to save and invest”, he said.

source: interaksyon.com

NEDA backs changes in Insurance Code

MANILA, Philippines - The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) is backing the passage into law of amendments to Presidential Decree (PD) 612 otherwise known as the 1974 Insurance Code of the Philippines.

 In its just-released Socio-Economic Report (SER) 2010-2012, NEDA said the Insurance Commission (IC) with the cooperation of the private sector introduced amendments to the Code to enhance regulatory policies and procedures that will be in accordance to global best practices.

“The challenge is how to fasttrack the approval of the bill(s),” it said.

The amendments not only bring the country’s insurance industry up to global standards, but also gives the regulator more teeth in dealing with judicial harassment by delinquent industry players.

Institutionalizing the amendments to the outdated Code will strengthen the code of good corporate governance introduced by the IC through a system of “scorecards to determine levels and quality of compliance.”

Delays in the passage of the proposed amendments will result in delays in implementing reforms for the industry, which among others could mean missed opportunities for the industry that offers protection, savings and investments for the insured and uninsured population.





Meanwhile, the SER noted the capital build up program of government to boost underwriting capacities, improve insurance services, and prepare for the Asean regional integration.

It noted that the minimum paid up capital required was P250 million for 2012. These will be increased further in a build up program “to make the industry more competitive in time for the Asean Economic Community come 2015.”

Concerns were likewise raised regarding the expanded regulatory scope of the IC, after the transfer of regulatory and supervisory functions of the pre-need industry from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to the IC.

At the start of 2012, 21 pre-need firms were issued working licenses. But the commission also inherited 30 insolvent pre-need companies that were in different stages of conservation, rehabilitation or liquidation.

Last month, the IC revealed that it was also managing 32 life, non-life and mutual benefit associations that are likewise in various stages of conservations, rehabilitation and liquidation.

Meanwhile, NEDA welcomed efforts by the IC to establish a catastrophe insurance model as a means for disaster risk reduction and financing, knowing fully well that the Philippines is one of the worst affected by typhoons and floods.

“The immediate objective is to be able to set up a catastrophe pool for residential buildings and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in view of the high vulnerability of the country to catastrophic risks,” NEDA said.

That situation is aggravated by the fact that the Philippine has one of the lowest insurance coverage especially the low-income and informal settlers.

Insurance coverage of all types reaches only 20 percent of the country’s population, with the majority through government pension funds such as the Social Security System (SSS) and the Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS).

Private insurance firms only account for four to six percent of the insured public.

To speed up protecting the public, the Department of Finance (DOF), the IC and several foreign and local entities formulated the National Strategy on Microinsurance, and the Regulatory Framework for Microinsurance. It is complimented by the Roadmap to Financial Literacy on Microinsurance.

Government has also implemented the OFW Compulsory Insurance Coverage Program for agency-hired migrant workers, according to NEDA.

 To date, nine participating life and non-life insurance companies had covered 483,306 agency-hired migrant workers. And a total of 1,669 migrant workers have filed claims against their respective policies, of which a total of P39.5 million in benefits have been paid.

source: philstar.com