The growing wave of fraudulent investment schemes and unregulated borrowing products continues to harm Filipino consumers, especially students, employees, and daily earners who lack the financial skills to evaluate promises of fast profit.

These schemes thrive amid the lack of critical literacy needed by many Filipinos to protect themselves.

To address this, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) held this year’s Investor Protection Week (IPW) from 12 to 14 November with the theme “InvestED Tayo sa Kinabukasang Sigurado,” highlighting the importance of financial literacy, responsible borrowing, and safe investing among Filipinos.

The three-day IPW celebration brought together employees from both public and private sector institutions, as well as students from various schools and universities, to improve their financial literacy.

It featured discussions on responsible borrowing and spotting investment scams, which were headlined by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Philippine Stock Exchange (PSE), the PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (PNP-ACG) and Fuse Financing Inc., the lending arm of GCash.

‘Financial literacy not a privilege’

During his keynote message, SEC chairperson Francis Lim emphasized the urgency of the national effort, stating that “financial literacy is not a privilege” but a protection.

He added that financial knowledge is the “only investment that cannot be stolen from us,” underscoring the Commission’s push to make financial literacy a core subject in high school.

This is crucial as many scams promise unrealistic returns, with some promising to double an investor’s money in a span of just one month.

The event also featured the launch of the SEC Academy, an accessible and user-friendly educational platform that aims to help guide Filipinos in their financial journey.