Co-ops to boost RP growth — Pagdanganan

The Philippines is very much capable of achieving an annual economic growth of five percent or more, which the World Bank said is needed to reduce poverty from last year’s 26 percent of the population to 18 percent by 2005, if the government will support the development of cooperatives, former Bulacan Gov. Roberto M. Pagdanganan said.

According to a World Bank reported released last Tuesday, an "average real economic growth of over five percent per year is feasible and would reduce poverty significantly.

Pagdanganan, chairman of the Philippine Cooperative Center, said this is the proper time to strengthen cooperatives since Asia, including the Philippines, is expected to recover from last year’s global economic slowdown, which was aggravated by the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

He said he believes that cooperatives would not only sustain economic growth but would also ensure equitable distribution of wealth among the poor Filipinos.

"I believe that cooperatives are the key to our war against poverty," said the former Bulacan governor.

He said a long-term economic sustainability could be guaranteed if the middle class would "constitute the core of citizenry." That is why, he said, "the country’s economic structure must be shaped like a diamond."

Pagdanganan said if the majority of the population would not experience any improvement in the quality of their lives, the most positive economic growth figures would mean nothing to the masses.