Cooperatives seek infra support from the gov’t

CEBU, Philippines - With the vital contribution of the cooperative sector in the nation's socio-economic development, the government should do its part to help augment the cooperatives and support in terms of infrastructures.

This according to Elsie Remonte, general manager of Philippine Cooperative Center, the apex body of the coop sector in the Philippines. The country's cooperative leaders were in Cebu last week for the 12th National Cooperative Summit.

Remonte particularly noted the farmers cooperatives are the ones that really need the government's intervention in helping them become more competitive.

"Sa services sector naman wala tayong problema pero yung ating agriculture sector ang directly maapektuhan sa pagpasok ng mga imported goods dahil sa integration," she told The FREEMAN in an interview, stressing the government should support the country's small producers through building good infrastructures and capacity building initiatives.

"Yung gobyerno sana natin titignan ano yung magagawa at ang mga pangangailangan ng farmers natin like infrastructures at irrigation system. It should be a partnership between the LGU (local government unit) and the coop. Isa lang yun sa dapat tignan in order for our farmers to be competitive," Remonte pointed out.

She said that in order for the country to be at par with its ASEAN counterparts, the government must increase its spending for the development of various sectors in the society, particularly citing the coop organizations.

Cooperativism

Coops are self-reliant and are actually not in need of financial support but they need the authorities' legislative aid to raise the cooperativism in the country and strengthen such established economic movement of the people, she said.

The crafting of a code of governance will reinforce the goal of cooperatives to promote and advance the interest of the organization and its members.

"When it comes to capital and money, they actually have their own money naman," she said.

The cooperative sector has also expressed hopes the government would likewise recognize the big role of the industry especially in areas of poverty reduction, social integration, job generation, rural employment, adult education and the changes it has brought to the community.

An expanding sector

A coop is an association of people who voluntarily cooperate for their mutual economic, social and cultural benefits. It is operated for the benefit of those people using its services.

According to the Cooperative Development Authority, the country has more than 22,000 registered cooperatives with a membership base of around 12,000 individuals.

PCC's Remonte cited that some of these organizations are relatively small and, in fact, are also facing challenges in prospering. Thus, she urged small cooperatives to merge or partner with bigger ones to improve their businesses and become strong in terms of volume.

"We need them to consolidate with bigger organizations kasi hindi naman yan dapat paramihan sa number of coops, mas mahalaga yung quality ng ating mga coop," she further said.

While the number of existing coops in the country is high, PCC is hoping coop federations will continue to help their primary members to alleviate the livelihood of their members.

"Alam mo ang batayan lang naman kung successful yung coop ay kung ang bawat miyembro ay nag-prosper at hindi lulong sa utang. Kung successful ang isang coop, kailangan bitbit din yun ng mga members. We're very particular on that," she said.

Local cooperatives have adopted the International Cooperative Alliance Blueprint 2020 for international cooperative movement to prepare them for the challenges and opportunities in the economic integration.

The ICA plan wants the cooperative form of business to become the fastest growing form of enterprise and become the recognized leader in economic, social and environmental sustainability by 2020.

According to the CDA, the local cooperative sector's quest for stronger cooperative movement is guided by the Philippine Cooperative Medium Term Development Plan 2011-2016. CDA is the government regulatory agency for coops.  (FREEMAN)