Senator Bong Go files bill for financial literacy and entrepreneurship in junior and senior high school curricula

Senator Bong Go files bill for financial literacy and entrepreneurship in junior and senior high school curricula

As Chair of the Senate Youth Committee, Senator Christopher "Bong" Go is pushing to strengthen the financial literacy and entrepreneurial skills of young Filipinos by institutionalizing these as separate core subjects in the junior and senior high school curricula under the current K-12 program.

Building on his consistent advocacy for education reforms that respond to the needs of the times, Go filed Senate Bill No. 672 at the start of the 20th Congress. He stressed that enhancing the economic knowledge and skills of the youth is a vital step in addressing poverty and unemployment, while also promoting sustainable national development.

"Kung matututo na ang kabataan natin sa tamang paghawak ng pera at sa pagnenegosyo habang nasa eskwela pa lang, mas magiging handa silang harapin ang hamon ng buhay. Tandaan natin na ang kabataan ang pag-asa ng ating bayan at edukasyon ang susi tungo sa mas maganda nilang kinabukasan," said Go.

His bill, if enacted, seeks to amend Republic Act No. 10679, or the "Youth Entrepreneurship Act," to broaden its coverage and deepen its integration in the education system.

In his explanatory note, Go underscored that the importance of entrepreneurship education in fostering economic growth and development has long been recognized in the Philippines as a proven means of addressing poverty and unemployment.

He recalled that RA 10679 was enacted to promote entrepreneurship among young Filipinos by providing programs and services to support the development of their entrepreneurial skills and mindset.

The proposed measure, he explained, declares as a policy of the State the promotion of "the sustained development of young Filipinos whose aptitude and skill in the field of finance and entrepreneurship shall be encouraged and honed through education and specialized training programs."

Go also cited findings from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor showing that, in 2015, 46 percent of Filipinos already had a very positive view of entrepreneurial opportunities in the country, a statistic that highlights the strong potential for nurturing this mindset among the youth.

Meanwhile, according to the June ?2025 "Ulat ng Bayan" nationwide survey conducted by Pulse Asia, 53% of Filipino adults identified having a good job or reliable source of income as one of their most urgent personal concerns, second only to staying healthy at 64%.

At the national level, job creation emerged as the third most pressing concern for 25% of respondents, following inflation at 62% and the need to increase worker pay at 51%.

The proposed measure tasks the Department of Education to ensure the inclusion of separate core subjects on financial literacy and entrepreneurship in the junior and senior high school curricula of both public and private secondary schools nationwide.

Recognizing the importance of foundational learning, the bill also proposes that at the elementary level, programs will focus primarily on instilling the ideal values necessary to become successful entrepreneurs.

Furthermore, the proposal mandates the Commission on Higher Education and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to promote entrepreneurship and financial literacy programs in higher education and technical-vocational institutions.

In addition, it seeks to expand the responsibilities of the Entrepreneurship Education Committee to include formulating a national plan of action, standardizing programs, adopting relevant foreign practices, and providing training and mentoring support.

These initiatives will also cover the development of enterprise incubation laboratories, creative spaces, and agriculture-related entrepreneurship programs in coordination with the Department of Agriculture and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

To ensure that the new subjects are relevant and effective, Go also proposes the conduct of multi-sectoral consultations with educators from public and private high schools, members of the national chambers of commerce and industry, leading entrepreneurs, and the public at large to determine the most appropriate content and scope of the financial literacy and entrepreneurship subjects.

"With the help of my fellow legislators, we will also continue to help our future generations, the youth whose voices we heard last elections, and who hold the promise of a brighter future for our country. Hence, we need to invest more in education," Go said previously.

Aligned with this commitment, Go has pledged to support policies that strengthen the education sector. He is one of the authors and co-sponsors of RA 12077, or the Student Loan Payment Moratorium During Disasters and Emergencies Act, which provides temporary financial relief for students with outstanding loans during calamities.

In addition, he is one of the authors and co-sponsors of RA 11510, which institutionalizes the Alternative Learning System (ALS); RA 11984, or the No Permit, No Exam Prohibition Act; RA 12006, or the Free College Entrance Examinations Act; and RA 11997, or the Kabalikat sa Pagtuturo Act.

Beyond these enacted laws, Go has also refiled several key education-related measures in the 20th Congress, reflecting proposals he previously authored and co-sponsored during the 19th Congress.

These include SBN 169, which proposes to expand the coverage of the tertiary education subsidy by amending RA 10931, or the Universal Access to Quality Tertiary Education Act, enacted during the administration of former President Rodrigo Duterte.

He also filed SBN 176, or the proposed State Universities and Colleges (SUCs) Mental Health Services Act, which seeks to institutionalize mental health services in SUCs nationwide by establishing Mental Health Offices in every campus to support students, faculty, and staff.

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