Speak with one voice on issues

Former Budget Secretary Bejamin Diokno at the 12th National Co-Operative Summit in Waterfront Hotel. (CDN PHOTO/JUNJIE MENDOZA)

Recognizing the role of cooperatives in strengthening the economy, former budget secretary Benjamin Diokno urged them to press authorities to do better.

Diokno, an economist, said the cooperative movement is diverse, but significant, having a five percent contribution to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is double than that of the mining sector’s two percent.

“Your future is bright, but you should not accept things as they are,” Diokno told more than 4,000 cooperators from all over the country who are in Cebu City for the 12th National Cooperative Summit which runs from yesterday until Saturday.

“Your group directly employs around 260,000 workers and that’s a lot,” he said, adding that this gives the movement a voice in policy making.

The former budget secretary encouraged the cooperatives to put pressure on government leaders to spend more on infrastructure and that this should be five percent of the GDP which is approximately P500 to P600 billion each year.

“There should be spending not only in mega projects but also small and medium projects in the countryside,” he said.

Among the reasons that foreign investors shy away from the country, he said, are “poor infrastructure, uncompetitive tax system, and weak government.”

The agriculture sector should also be developed in order to become a stronger driving force in the economy as this provides employment to one-third of the Filipino population and the source of food for 100 million people.

He added that more money should be spent to prepare for climate change, such as making better facilities and putting up higher safe grounds especially in high-risk areas.

Diokno said that the country has been lagging behind its Asean neighbors because the government doesn’t spend as much as it should.

“All is not well” with the country’s economy but it can still be made better, he said.

Diokno capped off his speech by saying that the future of the country’s economy depends on who people will vote for in the upcoming elections.

“In 19 months, you will elect a new president. Vote a doer, not a talker. Vote on someone who can unite us rather than divide us as a people. Vote wisely,” he said.

The summit is considered to be the biggest convergence of cooperative leaders in the country. It seeks to address the challenges and opportunities for the local cooperative movement in the advent of the Asean integration in 2015.

The three-day event is organized by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and the Philippine Cooperative Center (PCC) in cooperation with local hosts Victo National Federation of Cooperatives and Philippine Cooperative Central Fund Federation (PCF).