Last week of October eyed as coop week

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu Provincial Board is set to declare the last week of October of every year as “Cooperative Consciousness Week in Cebu Province” as it hosts the 12th National Cooperatives Summit from October 16 to 18.

Board Member Jude Thaddeus Durano Sybico sponsored a proposed ordinance for such declaration, which is set for plenary discussion next week.

Sybico cited Proclamation No. 493, Series of 2003, which declared the month of October 2004 and every year thereafter as Cooperative Month purposely “to encourage participation of all sectors of society in nation-building through cooperativism” by initiating activities and programs that will “raise the consciousness of our people to join the cooperative movement and uphold the principles and values of cooperativism.”

“We vouch as valid the proposition that these social economic values can best be fostered by stakeholder-ownership of activities, projects and programs initiated, promoted and implemented by cooperatives operating in our local communities in collaboration with other sectors, national government agencies and local government units of the Province of Cebu,” Sybico said.

Some 3,500 coop members from all over the country are expected to attend the summit at the Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

This year’s event will be hosted by VICTO National and the Philippine Cooperative Central Fund Federation.

The Philippine Cooperative Center  and the Cooperative Development Authority are inviting coop members to attend the summit, which carries the theme “Coops 2020: Raising the Bar.”

The PCC has crafted a strategic plan for cooperatives to be ready for the ASEAN integration in 2015 and for the breakthrough in entrepreneurial discoveries by 2020.

“Let us once again renew our commitment, our passion to pursue cooperative and contribute in improving the lives of the Filipinos; let us continue to build rebuild the ties that bind us as cooperators,” the summit organizers said.  (FREEMAN)