TARLAC CITY — Tarlac Governor Susan Yap underscored Thursday the importance of financial literacy to break the cycle of debt among government employees.
In an interview, Yap expressed her disappointment over loan sharks or lending institutions that take advantage of their debtors by charging around 10 to 20 percent a month.
“Everyone has some kind of debt and we have to be wise in how much interest we pay on that. Out of desperation, we sometimes overlook the imposed interest on our credits. Financial wisdom is essential since we’re paying off our debt using our hard-earned money,” she explained.
“When you loan, make sure that it is for an investment and not just for luxury,” she added.
With this, Yap backed the newly-launched program of the Government Service Insurance System (GSIS) that settles its members’ outstanding loan balance at reduced interest rate and longer payment term.
“The GSIS Financial Assistance Loan (GFAL) offers maximum loan amount of PhP500,000 with a practical 6 percent interest rate per annum and payable in 6 years,” the governor stressed.
She likewise lauded GSIS for crafting programs that further improve the lives of government employees and stakeholders.
The provincial government, in partnership with GSIS, conducts financial literacy seminar to specifically help the attendees handle their finances and understand GFAL better.