Building a Financially Empowered Laguna

BPI Foundation (BPIF) and De La Salle University (DLSU) are joining forces to spark a new movement for financial empowerment in Laguna, bringing scalable and community-centered financial education to students, teachers, and local youth leaders. Their newly signed Memorandum of Agreement marks the beginning of a broader, more strategic collaboration—one that positions Laguna as a growing hub for practical financial learning and capability-building in Southern Luzon.

At the core of this partnership is a shared belief that financial literacy creates stronger, more resilient communities. Through DLSU’s Student Affairs Office–Laguna Campus under the School of Innovation and Sustainability, the program will cascade financial learning across academic and community settings. This cooperation also brings in the Sangguniang Kabataan Federation of Laguna and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG)–Laguna, ensuring that youth leaders and barangay representatives become active champions of responsible money management.

The partnership’s anchor program is BPIF’s FinEd Train the Trainers initiative, designed to strengthen educators’ capacity to deliver simple, practical, and relevant financial lessons. With teachers, student leaders, and community partners trained as FinEd advocates, financial literacy becomes sustainable—passed from classroom to household, and from youth leaders to entire barangays. This foundation also paves the way for future collaborative projects, expanding the impact throughout the province.

For BPIF Executive Director Carmina Marquez, investing in educators is a long-term strategy for national development. She emphasized that empowering mentors creates ripples of positive financial behavior that benefit entire communities. DLSU President Br. Bernard Oca FSC echoed this vision, highlighting how the initiative reinforces the university’s mission to serve underserved communities while directly contributing to global priorities such as SDG 4 (Quality Education) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities).

More than 1,000 students, 150 teachers, 300 DLSU personnel, and 150 SK members across Laguna are expected to benefit from workshops, bootcamps, and hands-on financial training, including opportunities to explore entrepreneurial pathways with seed funding support. As the first educational institution in Laguna—and only the second in South Luzon—to join BPIF’s education network, DLSU plays a pivotal role in expanding inclusive financial education across the region.

To learn more about BPI Foundation’s financial education programs, visit https://www.bpifoundation.org/.