EXPLORING FINANCIAL LITERACY AMONG THE FISHERFOLK AND THEIR WIVES IN LAGUNA DE BAY, PHILIPPINES
Keywords:
Financial literacy, fisherfolks, financial well-beingAbstract
This study assessed the financial literacy of fisherfolk and their wives in the Laguna de Bay area in the Philippines, specifically examining their demographic characteristics, financial literacy, and financial well-being. A descriptive research design was employed using a questionnaire as the primary data-gathering instrument. The research was conducted in fishing communities in the municipalities of Angono, Baras, Binangonan, Cardona, Morong, Jalajala, Pililla, Tanay, and Taytay in the province of Rizal. Respondents were three hundred thirty (330) randomly selected pairs of fisherfolk and their wives from the nine (9) towns. Results revealed that most fisherfolk and their wives were aged 51–60, had attained a high school level of education or were high school graduates, and had 3–4 children. They reported a moderate monthly income and relied primarily on fishing and fish vending for their livelihood. Only a small proportion had savings, while many accessed multiple credit products. Overall, the fisherfolk and their wives demonstrated low financial literacy, with limited financial knowledge and poor financial behavior, attitudes, and well-being. Educational attainment and years of fishing experience showed a moderate association with financial knowledge, whereas age showed a significant, moderate association with financial behavior and attitude. However, no association was found between age and the number of children with regard to financial knowledge. Similarly, educational level, number of children, and years in fishing showed no association with financial behavior and attitude.
References
Chen, H., & Volpe, R. P. (1998). An analysis of personal financial literacy among college students. Financial Services Review, 7(2), 107–128. [Added — cited in text but absent from original reference list]
Fernando, J. (2023, March 30). What is financial literacy? Investopedia. https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/financial-literacy.asp
Gala, S. (2022). Financial literacy among the youth: The first step to financial independence. International Journal of Creative Research Thoughts (IJCRT), 1(7), 287–297. https://ijcrt.org/papers/IJCRT2207031.pdf
Laguna Lake Development Authority. (n.d.). Laguna de Bay basin master plan. Retrieved from LLDA fisheries and lake-use data cited in Vargas-Nguyen (2015) and related sources.
Margaretha, F., & Pambudhi, R. A. (2015). Tingkat literasi keuangan pada mahasiswa S-1 Fakultas Ekonomi. Jurnal Manajemen dan Kewirausahaan, 17(1), 76–85. https://doi.org/10.9744/jmk.17.1.76-85 [Added; author surnames corrected from "Margareta" and "Pambudi" in the original]
Marquez, M. K. (2023, February 9). Filipinos' financial literacy: What numbers say and why it matters. SignedMarco. https://www.signedmarco.com/filipinos-financial-literacy-philippines/
Miraflor, M. B. (2021, February 9). Gov't, partners launch financial education among fishermen. Manila Bulletin. https://mb.com.ph/2021/02/09/govt-partners-launch-financial-education-among-fishermen/
OECD. (2023). OECD/INFE 2023 international survey of adult financial literacy (OECD Business and Finance Policy Papers No. 39). OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/56003a32-en
Palanca-Tan, R. (2020). Economic vulnerabilities of fishing-dependent households around Laguna Lake, Philippines. Philippine Journal of Science, 149(3-a), 815–831. https://doi.org/10.56899/149.3A.10 [Author name corrected from "Tan" in the original]
Palanca-Tan, R., & Bongat-Bayog, S. (2021). Fishing and rural livelihood: A Philippine context. Open Journal of Animal Sciences, 11(1), 84–95. https://doi.org/10.4236/ojas.2021.111007 [Added; author names corrected from "Tan and Bayog" — study concerns Lake Sebu, South Cotabato, not Laguna de Bay]
Philippine Statistics Authority. (2023, March 24). Fisherfolks and farmers remain to have the highest poverty incidences among the basic sectors in 2021 (Press Release No. 2023-119). https://psa.gov.ph/content/fishery-resources
Quiñones, M. B., Jimenez, C. R., Dela Rosa, H. K. T., Paghasian, M. C., Samson, J. J., Molina, D. L., & Garcia, J. P. (2020). Socio-economic condition among the fisherfolks in Iligan Bay, Northern Mindanao, Philippines. Journal of Environment and Aquatic Resources, 5, 43–60. https://doi.org/10.48031/msunjear.2020.05.04 [Added; full seven-author list restored]
Scotty's Action Sports Network. (n.d.). Fishing in the Philippines and local fishing techniques. Retrieved July 27, 2023, from https://www.divescotty.com/underwater-blog/fishing-in-philippines.php
Vargas-Nguyen, V. (2015, July 21). Laguna de Bay, Philippines: Environmental literacy. Center for Environmental Science, University of Maryland (IAN). https://ian.umces.edu/blog/laguna-de-bay-philippines-environmental-literacy/
Wikipedia. (n.d.). Laguna de Bay. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 30, 2023, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laguna_de_Bay
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Journal for the Advancement of Sustainable Development Goals
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
License Statement
Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0)
All articles published in the Journal for the Advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (JASDG) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).
Under this license, users are free to:
-
Share — copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format;
-
Adapt — remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, including commercial use;
provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are indicated.
The licensor cannot revoke these freedoms as long as the license terms are followed.
Authors retain copyright of their work while granting JASDG the right of first publication. The published work remains freely available to readers and may be used, distributed, reproduced, and adapted by others in accordance with the terms of the CC BY 4.0 license.
For more information about this license, please visit:
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Copyright Notice
Copyright © 2026 The Author(s).
Articles published in the Journal for the Advancement of Sustainable Development Goals (JASDG) are distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, reproduction, and adaptation in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited.
