The Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation won the 1st Gawad Pampublikong Korporasyon Award for its Financial Literacy Project for students. The award was given by the Office of the Government Corporate Counsel (OGCC) in recognition of projects that have an impact on national development, benefit the general public and underscore quality productivity management. PDIC President Jose C. Nograles received the award at simple ceremonies at the Rizal Hall of the Malacañan Palace. Nograles said the award recognizes PDIC’s initiative in helping nurture financially informed Filipino youth who will contribute to our country’s economic development.

Government Corporate Counsel Alberto C. Agra said that the award aptly symbolized by the trophy which showed intertwining elements representing creativity/productivity, leadership and moral excellence that result in excellence in public service.

The PDIC Financial Literacy Project (FLP) is the first school curriculum-based financial literacy project in the Philippines and the first of its kind undertaken by a deposit insurer in Asia. The project which started three years ago in public high schools nationwide, expanded last year to private high schools and colleges and universities offering business administration courses nationwide. It is estimated to reach about 6.8 million students per year.

The PDIC FLP successfully integrated in the high school and business curricula lessons pertaining to savings mobilization, money management and its impact on economic growth, and PDIC’s role in helping maintain stability in the financial system. The project involved the development and distribution to public and private high schools nationwide of supplementary teaching materials called Teacher’s Guides in the subject areas of values education and economics. For the college level, it called for the integration of the said concepts in two subject areas in the Bachelor of Science in Business Administration curriculum.

The PDIC Financial Literacy Project is being undertaken in collaboration with the Department of Education (DepED) and the Coordinating Council of Private Educational Association (COCOPEA) in the high school level and with the Commission on Higher Education and the Philippine Council of Deans and Educators in Business in the college level.

Nograles said that the project, which started as a savings advocacy, has gained resonance with the current global financial crisis that some sectors attribute to over-borrowing.

Other recipients of the award were: Clark Development Corporation, National Development Corporation, Manila International Airport Authority, Pagcor, Clark International Airport Corporation, Tidcorp, Philexim, PNOC and Philippine Ports Authority.