The Philippine cooperative movement is celebrating 100 years in October 2015. Judgeing by the schedule of activities organized by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and coop enterprises all over the country, the sector will be fully engaged for the rest of this year.
For starters, the agency will hold a financial cluster congress in Tagaytay City tomorrow to open a series of sectoral assemblies in different parts of the country.
CDA Administrator Mercedes “Ched” Castillo made the disclosure when she sat down with me and co-host Romil Banzuelo for a session of Co-op TV (CCTN Channel 47). Ched appeared with Director Philip Deri, CDA- 7 extension office chief. The episode airs this Saturday, April 18 , at 6 a.m. and 5:30 p.m.).
The backstory of holding sectoral consultative assemblies between the different coop clusters and the CDA, including co-regulators like the Department of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform, to become part of the centennial celebration, is interesting. It all started as a huddle between these stakeholders who were attending legislative meetings related to proposed amendments of the implementing rules and regulations (IRRs) of the Cooperative Code of 2008 or Republic Act 9520.
The huddle became focused discussions with the aim of strengthening collaboration between the different agencies and the third sector. In January, the interaction took on a more resolute tone and before they knew it, the idea of a sectoral congress developed a template, according to Administrator Castillo.
The opening salvo will be fired tomorrow in Tagaytay City. The financial cluster is taking a bow, back to back with the health coops holding their own congress in the Asian Institute of Management in Makati City. This will be followed by the congress of agrarian reform coops which will also be held simultaneously on April 28 in Manila and Davao City.
The month of May will be especially frenzied for the sector with agricultural coops holding their congress up north in Isabela on May 1. The workers and labor service cluster will meet in Palawan; bank coops in Bacolod City; youth cluster in Batangas; Muslim coops in Cotabato City; then it will be back in Manila for the cluster of persons with disabilities coops, indigenous peoples coops, housing, and electric coops.
I especially look forward to the Muslim co-ops’ assembly in September because I think CDA chairman Orlando Ravanera will take advantage of the platform to push cooperatives as an instrument for peace and development.
The inputs of all 14 sectoral congresses will be presented to President Aquino in October. Because he is conscious of history, I hope he will deliver on the concerns of the third sector.
First on the list is a budget for the celebration.
PNoy should be informed that CDA is still negotiating with sponsors about who will help foot the bill for all these activities because there’s no budget, which tells us how low the sector is in the hierarchy of national priorities. In any case, CDA hopes to pick up the tab if cooperators contribute P1 each. Sus pagkalu-oy.
As a postscript to this topic, I’d like to congratulate former OIC chairman Eulogio T. Castillo for being undeterred despite the lack of resources. That he has hardworking colleagues in the board and in the agency’s executive department as well as coop leaders who don’t shirk from big responsibilities made for things to fall into place for the centenary.
In sum, it tells the never-ending coop story: We can get more done together than anyone can do alone.
Another topic that we tackled on Co-op TV is the amended rules and regulations of RA 9520. CDA revisited the IRRs three years after its implementation because according to Ched, compliance with requirements by the micro-finance and small cooperatives is rather low – at 50 percent.
Ninety-one percent of total registered co-ops are micro-finance enterprises and small-sized coops which are lacking in capacity. The amended IRRs are very significant, so stay tuned this Saturday for details.
On Saturday, the Cebu News Workers Multi-Purpose Cooperative will hold its 18th Annual General Assembly at the Marcelo B. Fernan Press Center in Cebu City. This year’s assembly theme takes after the global drive, “Co-operatives Build a Sustainable Society”. A Holy Mass at 8:30 a.m. will open the general assembly.
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The Schoenstatt Young Professionals will hold their 1st National Youth Congress beginning tomorrow at the Schoenstatt Spirituality Center in Lawaan, Talisay City.
The Schoenstatt Sisters and young architect Grace Ann Culpa, executive director of the youth formation program, were able to round up close to 100 participants from the Visayas and Mindanao for the three-day activity.
The Schoenstatt Young Professionals embody the very theme of the convention, “Generation on Fire,” that is to say, on fire to spread the Good News. The Schoenstatt Family all over the world, which is composed of lay and religious, just celebrated its centenary. What the youth convention signifies is that Grace Ann, Arlene Wahing, Jazzper Larida, Junjun Fernandez, Ronald Ibarra and the young Schoensttaters are actively taking up the challenge of the next 100 years.
The mobilization and organization can only be described as tough but the words of Schoenstatt father and founder, Fr. Joseph Kentenich keep the youth movement going: “Be like Mary for the coming times.”
May Mary, Queen and Victresss of Schoenstatt, will help you accomplish the great mission!