Vargas: Avoid scam, be financially literate.

FILIPINO workers, especially those working overseas, should be financially literate to get rid of investment scam, Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas said.

Alarmed by the newest investment scam, wherein hundreds of Filipino workers and OFWs have been duped by suspects using a popular cryptocurrency, Vargas has proposed House Bill 4363 or An Act Providing Financial Literacy and Entrepreneurship Programs for Workers.

To be called “Financial Literacy for Workers Act”, the bill seeks to provide programs and trainings on how Filipino workers and retirees can manage their finances and resources properly.

The measure, Vargas said, shall likewise establish an entrepreneurship education program so that employees and retirees can start their small and medium scale businesses.

“Hard-earned money should be invested wisely. I am urging our Kababayans, especially those working abroad and those who are retiring to think first and do some research before investing,” Vargas said.

Citing studies made by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Vargas said that one in every 100 Filipinos has easily fallen prey to various investment scams due to promise of hefty returns in a short period of time.

Nowadays, the most prevalent scams are done through “Ponzi” and “pyramiding” schemes. However, with the advent of technology, tech-savvy scammers are now increasing and using the Internet and social media to lure yield-seeking investors.

In filing the bill, Vargas underscored the need to address a number of problems that continue to hold back Filipinos from realizing their entrepreneurial aptitude such as lack of adequate knowledge on financial management, high cost of doing business, lack of access to finance and market information and low productivity and competitiveness due to the lack of economic capacity.

While there are private companies that conduct training on financial literacy, Vargas is proposing to the government to have subsidized relevant programs to interested Filipino workers.

The bill specifically mandates the Department of Labor and Employment (DoLE), with the cooperation of the Department of Education (DepEd), to provide assistance to eligible entities that will provide financial literacy and entrepreneurship programs to workers.

“This representation seeks to establish a financial literacy and entrepreneurship education program for Filipino workers to empower them to generate more income and ultimately lead a life of economic and financial freedom,” Vargas said.

“Just a reminder to my fellow Filipino workers that want to invest… if it’s too good to be true, then it’s probably too good be true so turn the offer down outright. A true investment takes time to grow with proper management and discipline,” the solon added.

Just recently, local police authorities have arrested Arnel Ordonio and wife Leonady who allegedly amassed wealth amounting to nearly P1 billion through the cryptocurrency Bitcoin.

To date, the two biggest investment scams in the Philippines involved Performance Investments Products Corp. (PIPC) and Aman Futures Group, each of which had siphoned off about P12 billion in investments.

-April 18, 2018