MANILA, PH – February 2025 – Sun Life Financial-Philippines Foundation, Inc. (Sun Life Foundation) and its implementing partner, AHA! Behavioral Design® (AHA! BD), earned recognition at the 60th Anvil Awards. Their program Sun Pera-Aralan, the first behavioral finance program for public school teachers in the Philippines, won both the Grand Anvil Award and the Gold Anvil Award.
The Sun Life Foundation launched Sun Pera-Aralan in 2018 in response to the PHP 300 billion debt crisis that public school teachers face. The program takes a one-of-a-kind approach. It uses behavioral science to promote positive, practical daily money habits that don’t disrupt teachers’ routines.
How Sun Pera-Aralan Works
The program’s primary tool, the Peso Sobre, helps teachers manage their cash flow effectively. By allocating their monthly salary to fixed and variable expenses, teachers avoid going over budget or incurring unplanned debts. In addition, the program fosters an online and on-ground community of practice. There, participating teachers interact and encourage each other in applying behavioral finance to their daily money management.
Currently, Sun Pera-Aralan has reached 108,000 public school teachers across the country. This year, it aims to reach 130,000 teachers in time for Sun Life Philippines’ 130th anniversary.
Voices Behind Sun Pera-Aralan
“We humbly thank the Public Relations Society of the Philippines for this great honor and recognition,” said Kristine Millete, Executive Director of the Sun Life Foundation. “This has further inspired us to continue advocating for financial literacy, so that more Filipinos will achieve lifetime financial security.”
“Sun Life Foundation’s daring in trying out behaviorally informed, practical, and scalable solutions has opened up new approaches for changemakers. One of which is Behavioral Science, that leverages human behavior for a successful landing of strategies—especially in last-mile behaviors,” said Leinard Ramos, Principal and Chief Marketing Officer of AHA! BD.
Awards and Attendees
Several leaders attended the 60th Anvil Awards Gabi ng Parangal. They were Benedict Sison, Sun Life Philippines CEO & Country Head and Sun Life Foundation Chairman; Kristine Millete, Sun Life Foundation Executive Director; Kara David, Sun Life Foundation Independent Trustee; Aleister Cruz, Sun Life Philippines Chief Strategy and Enablement Officer and Sun Life Foundation Trustee; Timothy John Agulto, AHA! BD’s Chief Operating Officer; and Cidee Despi, AHA! BD’s Program Manager.
Sun Pera-Aralan has received numerous awards since it began. These include the First Gawad Kaagapay Award for Financial Literacy and the Most Outstanding Stakeholder Award from the Schools Division Office of Quezon City. It also received the Award of Excellence in the Philippine Quill Excellence Awards and the CSR Guild Award for Outstanding CSR Project in Financial Inclusion.
