Visa Launches “Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog” and Uses National Heroes to Provide Financial Education to Young Filipinos

THE PHILIPPINES, Manila – 2 October 2017 – Visa launched Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog (Crumpled, Round), an interactive play featuring national heroes, developed with Tanghalang Pilipino (TP), the resident drama company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines, and Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) designed to educate and empower the Filipino youth to make informed financial decisions. This is the first program of its kind launched by Visa in the Philippines in support of the government’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion spearheaded by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas.

Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog will showcase common scenarios faced by a Filipina senior high school student protagonist named Gwyneth who is challenged to make decisions between her needs and wants. Native Filipino heroes such as Jose Rizal and Apolinario Mabini will also ‘come alive’ from the crumpled bills and rounded coins to help the main character make wise decisions.

The launch also included a panel discussion on the importance of financial literacy in the Philippines, including panelists such as Dan Wolbert, Visa Philippines Head of Sales, Pia Roman-Tayug, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Head of Inclusive Finance Advocacy, Nanding Josef, Tanghalang Pilipino Artistic Director, and Patricia Feria-Lim, Teach for the Philippines Chief Strategy Officer.

“At Visa, we strongly believe in the importance of financial literacy and it is a key area of focus as part of our corporate social responsibility efforts. Hence, with the support of BSP, we created this financial literacy program and interactive play through Lukot-lukot, Bilog-bilog where the Filipino youth can relate to various scenarios on making money management decisions. With millennials forming a large population in the Philippines, we believe it is crucial to spread the knowledge of how to manage their money at a young age, and to highlight the importance of making smart monetary decisions,” said Stuart Tomlinson, Visa Country Manager for the Philippines and Guam.

Starting October, the show will be performed in close to 10 different schools to make financial literacy education more accessible to the students. This program is aligned with the government’s National Strategy for Financial Inclusion, in particular, the pillar on financial education and consumer protection.

“We believe that financial education should be introduced to learners early on, especially key concepts including budgeting, investing, and setting financial goals. Innovative approach such as blending education and art are most welcome and can help the existing programs of the government. This is a tangible support from the private sector of the objectives of the NSFI, particularly the pillars on financial education and consumer protection,” says Pia.

“The informative and interactive performances will stimulate creativity and challenge its audience on their perception of money,” says Nanding Josef, Tanghalang Pilipino Artistic Director. With the creative direction of TP, the play will spark critical thinking in these youths on the value of money. “By presenting economic concepts in realistic and entertaining situations, we hope that audiences will find it easier to apply their learnings in their daily lives,” added Nanding.

Visa’s financial literacy initiative also aims to reach out to students under Teach for the Philippines, a program Visa has been actively involved with previously.

"Experiential learning has been proven to be an effective method for encouraging mastery and understanding. At Teach for the Philippines, we believe that programs which incorporate financial literacy and theater arts in academics develop the critical life skills of our learners. We look forward to a continued partnership with Visa Philippines, BSP, and Tanghalang Pilipino to bring our learners closer to their full potential and enable them to contribute meaningfully to nation building," said Patricia.

“We want to secure the future of the Filipino youth and are committed to forging the path to financial literacy and inclusion. We envision the program to reach more students throughout the country in the coming years,” added Stu.