Twenty years of training.
Same framework. Same outcome. Same discipline. The 6 steps have not changed since 2005 — because they do not need to. What changes is the family sitting across the table.
About
Erlwin S. Abanggan.
Executive Marketing Director and Independent Representative, IMG Philippines. Trainer. Twenty years teaching Filipino families how money works. Based in Cebu.
Erlwin S. Abanggan is a Executive Marketing Director and trainer at IMG (International Marketing Group) Philippines, based at JY Square Mall in Lahug, Cebu City. He has trained Filipino working adults, OFW families, and IMG associates in the Wealth Academy Program's 6-Step Financial Foundation for approximately twenty years.
The work is the same every week: sit with someone who has income but no plan, walk them through the six steps, and leave them with a written document they own. No products in the first session. Ever.
Why this practice is different
Four things you will not find elsewhere.
Direct access through IMG.
Not carrier-locked. IMG distributes products from Kaiser, Manila Bankers, Fidelity, Rampver, and PhilEquity. The recommendation follows the need — not the commission.
Bilingual delivery.
Tagalog and English in the same session. Whichever language makes the conversation clearer is the language we use. Financial literacy is not a language test.
Plan first, products second.
No product is discussed until the plan exists. The Roadmap Session ends with a document you own — not a proposal, not a quote, not a brochure.
Why IMG exists
Two colleagues. Same information. Different decisions.
Twenty-seven years ago, two colleagues started at the same company. They had the same dreams. They worked with the same intensity. One stayed and rose inside the company. The other — Bart — left and helped build IMG into one of the Philippines' largest financial distribution companies.
The difference was never talent. It was a decision about what to do with the same information. That decision — to invest in financial education before products, and to build a life that money serves instead of one that serves money — is the reason IMG exists. It is the same decision every Roadmap Session asks a family to make.
The transformation
Benj and Fely Santiago carried seven-figure debt. Today they lead IMG.
Both engineers. Both senior managers in the semiconductor industry. Earning very well — and spending even better. "Gastos dito, gastos diyan." By their forties they were carrying seven-figure debt across a portfolio of loans Fely later described as a quagmire. She remembers a night on her knees, praying for a way out.
In 2010 they found IMG. They started with the 6-Step Foundation — the same framework taught here. Cash flow first. Protection second. Debt third. Emergency fund fourth. Investment last. Within a decade they had cleared every peso of debt and built a coaching practice that today reaches more than 23 countries. They are now Senior Executive Vice Chairmen at IMG Philippines.
Their story is the reason the Roadmap Session never sells a product in the first meeting. The plan comes first. The product, if it comes at all, comes later — after the foundation is built.
Credentials
The verifiable record.
Independent Representative, IMG Philippines
Authorized personal distributor of IMG's partner network. Not an employee of IMG. Not a corporate spokesperson. A practicing advisor with direct access to the products, training, and infrastructure.
IMG Philippines — Executive Marketing Director
Current role. Executive Marketing Director at International Marketing Group (IMG) Philippines, the Philippine distribution arm of World Financial Group (AEGON).
Certifications
Certifications and licenses will be listed here once verified. Contact for current credentials.
Awards and recognition
IMG recognition awards and industry honors will be listed here once verified. Contact for current recognitions.
The path so far
Twenty years, five chapters.
Every year on this list is a year of teaching the same six steps to families across the Philippines.
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Year 1
Joins IMG as a member.
Begins as a member with no products to sell and no team to lead — just the curriculum, and the conviction that Filipino families deserve better financial education than they were getting.
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Year 3
Begins training as an IMG trainer.
Moves from member to trainer. Teaches the Wealth Academy curriculum to new members. Learns that the fastest way to understand the framework is to teach it.
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Year 8
Relocates to Cebu. Opens the JY Square office.
Sets up practice in Lahug. The JY Square office becomes a walk-in hub for members, prospects, and OFW families who want to meet in person.
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Year 15
Becomes Executive Marketing Director.
Takes on leadership of IMG Philippines' marketing organization. Continues to train personally — because the teaching is the point.
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Today
Wealth Academy continues.
Same 6 steps. Same 20 years of conviction. New families every week.
Start here
Book a free session. Meet in person or online.
If any of this resonates, the next step is a 90-minute conversation. No products. No obligation.
At JY Square Mall, Cebu, or online.