FINANCIAL CRISES in the past have badly affected the Philippines, bringing down hopes of a strong and fast recovery for the country.
For this reason, the Ateneo Mathematics Society (AMS) invited speakers to talk in a financial literacy seminar titled “Revival from the Financial Crisis,” in the Ching Tan Room on January 16.
Project Head Mikhail Pimentel said, “The main point of the talk was to inform the students why exactly there was a crisis and that there is hope to recuperate.”
In his opening remarks, Fr. Ben Nebres, SJ hoped the students would “understand the deeper forces [not just the mathematical ones] and that [these forces would be] situated in the real world.”
Helping and reaching out
Financial matters are significant to the whole country, and actions taken on them affect Filipinos.
For Pimentel, this event is relevant not just to the Ateneo community but to the whole country. “We are living in a country, a nation that is suffering [from] an economic decline despite its high potential.”
Most of the guest speakers spoke of hope in the Philippine economy and faith in the Philippine banking system.
Although their talks discussed particular topics on finance, their messages boiled down to optimistic dispositions on the financial shape of the country. They cited facts from recent history and figures to explain their points.
Ferrier Hodgson Executive Director Butch Gregorio gave an outlook for the global and national economies. “Emerging Asia will lead to growth of other markets,” he said.
He also mentioned that the national budget would be improved and that a good fraction of the Philippine economy would still rely on remittances.
“Local banking system is sound…We [the country] learned from the Asian crisis,” said Bank of the Philippine Islands Capital Corporation President Teodoro Limcaoco.
He added that the country is well-regulated, well-capitalized, and has minimum exposure to troubled US business groups.
Secretary of Finance Margarito Teves emphasized in his speech that unity and action could drive the Philippines to financial gains.
“The stronger we are as a nation, the better we could handle financial matters,” said Teves.
He said that Filipinos need to invest and that strict economic policies can really help the economy shape up.
Teves encouraged the audience, who were mostly math majors, to continue their studies in mathematics because he said that the discipline leads to precise and clear thinking.
“As math students from Ateneo de Manila University, I believe you have the capacity to think wisely. I hope you will be discerning in choosing the right persons [this coming elections],” said Teves.
Money flow, money talk
The seminar covered the flow of money as well, with Gregorio discussing values of real estates and the behavior of prices during a crisis.
Meanwhile, CitiSecOnline President and CEO Dino Bate shared his knowledge on saving money, investing, and how one makes money through appreciation of stocks.
He said, “The difficulty is educating each individual about investing in the stock market….There’s room for growth. There are few people [investing] despite the big investment potential.”
Limcaoco added, however, that decisions on investing are hard to make. “Emotions and confidence play a vital role in decisions to consume and invest,” he said.
Meanwhile, foreign specialist from Brunei Hj Shafiee Al-Shukri Ghazali and his associate talked about earning money through foreign exchange activities. They taught the audience the basics of doing so with graphs and samples.
Pimentel said that it is important to know how money flows in the country in order to better manage one’s own money.
