Villar proposes creation of teachers’ bank

Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. has proposed the formation of a bank that would grant financial assistance to public school teachers in times of need and crisis.

Senate Bill 572 filed by Villar seeks to create the Philippine Teachers’ Bank to meet the financial needs of public school teachers.

Villar said the bank would give public school teachers something to rely on during financial difficulties.       

"Almost all of us are aware that most teachers are having a hard time making both ends meet," Villar said.

"So much so that many of them have turned to unscrupulous money lenders or the so-called ‘5-6’ (lending syndicate) and it has become fairly common for them to sell foodstuffs and other knickknacks in schools to earn extra money."

Villar said the Teachers’ Bank would operate under a commercial banking license with an authorized capital stock of P1 billion.

The bill provides that the bank would have a legal existence for 50 years, he added.

Explaining the bill’s concept, Villar said the creation of the Teachers’ Bank would encourage members to save their extra earnings.

The bank would extend credit facilities to members at a nominal rate of interest to save them from the clutches of loan sharks, he added.

Villar said the bank would also provide teachers with additional income in the form of dividends, and would serve as an official depository of the Philippine Public School Teachers Association.

"All of these notorious practices of teachers that we feel get in the way of them giving our children quality education would be minimized if not totally stopped if they would have a bank of their own that can serve their financial needs, particularly in terms of loans," he said. — Marvin Sy