National summit for cooperatives launched in Quezon City

MANILA, Philippines - Advocates of cooperativism in the country and the Quezon City government led by City Mayor Feliciano “Sonny” Belmonte Jr. launched in simple ceremonies yesterday at the City Hall the 10th National Cooperative Summit.

“We are focused on making a huge project . This is not a small thing but one that would call attention to the cooperative movement not only in Quezon City (with some 700 operating cooperatives),” said Belmonte. The mayor said among others, he wants all cooperatives in the city “to cut across all offices” like the Departments of Agrarian Reform, Agriculture (DA) and other government agencies.

“Having cooperatives around is good because they benefit from various privileges and (tax) exemptions. The summit itself will be a terrific showcase for cooperativism in the city and in the country,” said Belmonte.

In a prepared statement, former senator Butz Aquino, chairman of the Philippine Cooperative Center, said the summit will be an expression of the coop sector’s collective desire to move forward and break new grounds.

“It intends to chart the strategic direction of the sector for the next 10 years which is industry-focused. It also signals the resolve of cooperatives as a sector to strengthen its position and contribution in the economy, to society and nation-building,” said Aquino.

10,000 delegates

Aquino said that the summit also aims to concretize the cooperative principle “cooperation among cooperatives” after noting that the cooperatives themselves are rowing in different directions focused only on their own existence. The senator added that the summit aims to establish further “forward and backward linkages between and among the cooperatives.”

In this way, he said, the cooperative sector may be able to maximize economies of scale and membership advantage enabling the sector to be a significant market player. The summit, he said, also hopes to address the gaps that hamper development of cooperatives’ partnerships and linkages with other business entities.

This will be the biggest meeting of cooperative members ever as some 10,000 delegates from various cooperatives nationwide will be attending the three-day summit to be held Oct. 9 to 11 at the Araneta Coliseum, said the organizers.

There are about 20,000 cooperatives in the country but many are encountering problems in leadership and business management, among others.