IMG: Educating Filipinos in financial literacy

I was in Manila over the weekend to join the International Marketing Group’s (IMG) annual Convention of Champions dubbed “Unstoppable” that is celebrating their 15 years of existence at the SMX Convention Center. It was also a great opportunity for me to bring in my TV crew for my talkshow  “Straight from the Sky” wherein I interviewed the Big 3 of IMG, Dr. Joen delas Peñas, Engr. Bart Borja and Engr. Noel Arandila. I also had the opportunity to interview the Ozone Therapy International at the Kaiser Medical Center and the Green Jackets of IMG at the SMX.

Three years ago I attended the IMG convention also at the SMX and saw some 3,000 delegates at the event. Last Sunday, I was amazed that IMG has increased its number to nearly 10,000 participants all in formal and gala wear. It could only mean one thing… that IMG has touched the lives of many Filipinos especially from all walks of life that lacked financial literacy. This is the goal of IMG to educate a million Filipinos by the year 2020 on how to let their hard-earned money work for them… something you cannot even learn in high school or college.

Way back in the year 2012, I had the grand opportunity to feature the canonization of San Pedro Calungsod at the Vatican in Rome and tagged along my TV crew. Since IMG had many offices in the Middle East, Barcelona and Rome, I was able to interview the IMG people in Rome for my show and learned that people who are now connected with IMG used to be ordinary overseas Filipino workers (OFW) who wanted more than just being employed by their foreign bosses. These people have now freed themselves from the bondage of employment and have become entrepreneurs in their own right. It is for this reason why IMG has grown by leaps and bounds!

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Flying to Manila for the weekend apparently gave me the opportunity to check out one of the biggest stories happening in the country…. The issue happening to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the ride-sharing transportation phenomenon called Uber. As we all know, Uber has been suspended by the LTFRB. Suddenly there was a serious lack of taxicabs and Grab car or taxi which was not suspended, was so difficult to access. This really gave me an idea of the important role of Uber in transportation especially in Metro Manila.

Last Friday afternoon from the Mall of Asia (MOA), we tried getting a taxicab that was lined up near the entrance to Makati and three taxicabs rejected us, giving us a lame excuse that traffic was bad. Come now, since when was Manila free of traffic? This is where the huge difference between taking Uber and Grab and taking an ordinary taxicab. Unfortunately the LTFRB cannot see that a great majority of the riding public would rather take this ride-sharing transportation companies.

If you want to know the great difference between Uber and Grab, if you take Uber, you need to summon them using their application (App) on your cellphone and they will inform you how many minutes the vehicle would arrive at your destination and the name of the driver and the type of vehicle and its plate number. Both Uber and Grab car have the same system, except that with Uber your payment is through your phone, meaning there is no cash transaction, while if you use the Grab app you need to pay cash to the driver.

Since it was already late in the evening, we were able to get a Grab car from Solaire Casino to the Conrad Luxury Hotel. In that short ride, I was able to interview the driver who opened up to me that his real job is in a call center nearby… that Grab gave him the opportunity to buy his Mitsubishi Mirage and pay its monthly amortization and fuel bills. But he intimated to me that three of his co-workers have quit their job to become full time with Grab simply because they actually earn more in driving for Grab. I guess the reason why they made good income with this company is simple… the demand is great!

So with Uber off the streets, no doubt that the demand for Grab was very high. But this driver intimated to me that he too belonged to Uber. I was totally taken by surprise… but he told me that it was a matter of getting two apps in your cellphone to maximize his income. I’m sure this fellow is not alone in having a dual citizenship in the transport world!

But should the LTFRB blame Uber or Grab? For as long as the LTFRB does not fix the problems besetting many taxicab drivers like their refusing to convey passengers especially during rush hours, or having dilapidated taxicabs or worse drivers who smell like a horse, then they will be replaced by a better idea and that my friends is what Uber and Grab represent to the riding public. Unfortunately, LTFRB officials cannot see that the old taxicab system has not benefited the riding public.

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