TITLE:
Between Financial Freedom and Debt: Insights from Public School Teachers in Philippines
AUTHORS:
Christy S. Doroy
KEYWORDS:
Financial Management, Spiritual, Mental, and Emotional Health, Loan Addiction
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Accounting,
Vol.14 No.3,
July
16,
2025
ABSTRACT: The decision to be debt-free or remain in debt is vital in shaping policies on loans for public-school teachers in Philippines. This study explores teachers’ willingness to repay debt, their proposed interventions, and the relationship between loan addiction and the ability to repay. Using a descriptive-correlational design and snowball sampling, 84 public-school teachers at the basic and tertiary levels responded to an online survey. Findings show that teachers generally agree on repaying their debts (M = 3.7 ± 0.47), although many are uncertain about their willpower to do so. While some appear to be addicted to loans, they rarely acknowledge this (M = 1.96 ± 0.77). Spiritual and emotional support is seen as a need. Respondents proposed government interventions, such as lowering interest rates and offering legal and financial literacy seminars. A statistically significant, moderate positive correlation (r = 0.372, p