CEBU CITY, Cebu (PIA) – How can one say that he or she is financially free? This is a question that draw different answers from different people.
From the perspective of a college student, financial freedom holds a straight and simple description.
“Pwede nako mapalit ang gusto nako paliton, niya kong ganahan ka mag enoy sa life, ako sad mabuhat (I can buy what I want to buy and I can enjoy the life I want to have),” said Ralph Roi Diano, a second year BS Mining Engineering student in Cebu City.
“Though naa gihapoy problema, but imu nalang hunahunaon is how to expand more and how can I manage this amount of money (Though there are still problems, but the only thing I need to do is how to expand more and how can I manage this amount of money),” Diano added.
As a student who has an allowance, Diano believes it is important for him to learn how to properly manage his budget and expenses, while being aware of the illegal investment schemes that victimize the investing public.
This is the reason why he did not hesitate to accept the invitation from the Securities and Exchange Commission to attend a roadshow focusing on financial literacy.
SEC IPW Roadshow
The Securities and Exchange Commission Cebu Extension Office held an Investor Protection Week (IPW) roadshow in Cebu City on November 10, 2023, which was held simultaneously nationwide in observance of Investor Protection Week.
With the theme “FROM STRUGGLING TO SECURE: Entering Your Financial Freedom Era Through Smart and Sustainable Investments”, the SEC Roadshow aimed to highlight and promote the importance of financial literacy among the youth, enhance awareness about the pros and cons of investments, and educate them on how to spot investment scams.
Around 200 students from various high schools and universities in Cebu City participated in the event, where they learned about making wise financial decisions.
“Our target participants for the roadshow are senior high school and college students. Sila yung mga may allowance na and they can decide on their own, and meron na silang awareness on how they can actually spend their own money,” said SEC Cebu Extension Office Director Sheara Lupango Tamayo.
The roadshow tackled financial literacy and unmasking illegal investment schemes.
“Itong mga students, they should start to claim that financial freedom at a very young age, kay yung theme natin sa roadshow ay ‘from struggling to secure,’ meaning entering na sila into the financial freedom era. But if they really want to enter that financial freedom era, they should start na ngayon and they should act now,” added Tamayo.
The students who participated in the 2023 IPW Roadshow held by the SEC Cebu Extension Office in Cebu City on November 10, 2023. (RGC/PIA7 Cebu)
Financial literacy
SEC emphasized that financial literacy is a crucial step towards achieving financial freedom.
The commission aims for Filipinos to have the capacity to understand and use a variety of financial abilities, such as investing, budgeting, and personal financial management.
Being financially educated gives them the groundwork for a relationship with money that is a lifetime learning process.
The SEC also described a “financially literate” person as someone who is less vulnerable to investment scams and other financial fraud.
‘Too good to be true’
Hoping to explore other avenues to increase her income, Elizabeth Enriquez, 61, of Brgy. Suba, Cebu City once joined an investment scheme that promised huge returns within a short period of time.
What she thought would bring more money for her turned into a nightmare, after discovering that she placed P10,000 right into the hands of investment scsammers.
“Nadala ko sa istorya sa ako kaila, nga dobolon daw akong kwarta. At first, wala ko misulod, nakadungog nako about ato pero wa ko nisulod, until ni try ko kay nagtuo ko basin tinuod gyud ilang gi promise (I was enticed by the story of someone I know who promised to double my money. At first, I didn’t go for it. But then I thought I give it a try in case what they promised is true),” said Enriquez.
She said she knows better now after that experience. “Dili na gyud ko mosuway og mosud balik ana, kay nakat-on nako kay na kuhaan kog kwarta nga medyo dako. Dili na gyud ko magpadala og mga istorya (I will never fall victim to that again because I’ve learned my lesson now after losing a lot of money. I won’t be persuaded by their false promises),” said Enriquez.
Enriquez advised other people to think first before they decide and not fall for schemes that are “too good to be true.”
“Ato gyung hunahunaon giunsa pag double or pag triple sa atong kwarta nga wala kay gi capital. So mao nalang gyud atong hunahunaon kung naay manggal-gal napud nga mao ni atong kwarta makuha, ato dayun i-analyze giunsa pag tubo sa atong kwarta (Let’s think it through. How can they double or triple our money without capital? We should remember that when someone tries to entice us to put up money on a certain investment. Analyze how your money will be profitable),” she added.
Students brainstorming during a workshop about income, expenses, budgeting, and savings at the 2023 SEC IPW roadshow in Cebu City on November 10, 2023. (RGC/PIA7 Cebu)
Investment scams
According to SEC, the two most common types of investment scams that continue to victimize the investing public are the following:
Ponzi scheme – a scheme which promises a bigger investment return within a short period of time.
Pyramid scheme – a scheme which operates through downline investing and promises an unrealistic return from imaginary investments.
“Our goal here is to punish the investment scammers. There is a new Act wherein we can enforce returning the money, assuming that they still have the money. The main goal is to punish them and prevent these scams from victimizing other investors. Paulit-ulit lang ang mga investment scams, the only difference is how they present these investments to the public,” said SEC Cebu Extension Office Securities Counsel I Atty. Giness Marie Rosales-Teves.
Spotting investment scams
The commission reminded the roadshow participants of the investment red flags to help them determine if an investment is legit or not.
Ask if the investment is SEC-registered and has a secondary registration. A SEC registration alone would not suffice. They should have a secondary license for them to be legally allowed to solicit investments from the public, and the person offering investments should be licensed with the SEC as well.
Check if the investment is too good to be true. If it is, the investment is most likely a scam.
Check if the investment scheme is too active on social media and if they have a principal office address. The lack of a principal office is an indication that the investment is most likely a scam.
SEC also encouraged the public to download their mobile application, SEC Check App, to check if an investment is SEC-registered and has a secondary license.
“Again, we would like to remind our investing public to inquire if there are red flags sa mga investments na inyung ma encounter, the SEC is open and you can approach us, any inquiry about investment we are open to answering all your questions,” said SEC Cebu Extension Office Securities Counsel I Sambrina Vel Nazario.
(L-R) Securities Counsel I Atty. Giness Marie Rosales-Teves and Sambrina Vel Nazario of the SEC Cebu Extension Office during the press conference for the 2023 IPW Roadshow in Cebu City on November 10, 2023. (RGC/PIA7 Cebu)
Youth as “investor champions”
With the conduct of the IPW roadshow, the SEC hopes to transform the students, or the youth in general, into “investor champions.”
SEC defines investor champions as a generation who makes well-informed financial decisions and who will not easily fall into illegal investment and financial transactions.
The commission recognizes the crucial role of the youth as information disseminators and influencers.
The more the government provides accurate information to them, the more they will become financially literate and become good influencers towards their peers.
Being an “investor champion” is the best way to counter the investment scams and help other investors not be victimized by these scammers.
“To all our student participants, we are encouraging you to be investor champions, and we in the SEC will help you so that you can also help us disseminate the information and tell everybody about the red flags of investment and not to fall from these investment scams,” said Lupango during the roadshow.
For Diano, the most important lesson he learned from the roadshow was the change in his mindset on how to manage his budget and expenses.
“Tungod ani na activity, nausab akong mindset or attitude nga sige lang og gasto, sige lang og huwam (Because of this activity, my mindset or attitude of spending and borrowing money has changed),” he said.
“Gituduloan ko ani nga dili kinahanglan diay nga aduna kay dakong kwarta, but the thing there is how to minimize the expenses in your own way. I should do everything I can para ma manage nakog tarong akong income and expenses (The activity taught me that it is not always about having a huge amount of money, but how to minimize the expenses in your own way. I should do everything I can to manage my own income and expenses,” he added. (RGC/PIA7 Cebu)
SEC Cebu Extension Office Sheara Lupango Tamayo answering questions from the media during the 2023 SEC IPW Roadshow in Cebu City on November 10, 2023. (RGC/PIA7 Cebu)
