by Noel Baguio
An official of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) described the support mechanism and interventions given by the Province of Davao del Norte to the cooperative movement as surpassing in quality.
CDA Regional Director Elma Oguis gave the province a grade of perfect 10 when members of the media ask her to rate, in a scale of 1 to 10, the support and commitment of the Provincial Government and its various local government units (LGUs) to the cooperatives.
“I salute the provincial government and its various LGUs for their all-out support and commitment to the cooperatives in the province,” she told local journalists after the culmination program of the Cooperative Month Celebration held at the JBL Covered Court, Talaingod, Davao del Norte.
Dir. Oguis cited the financial and technical assistance, among other interventions being provided by the province that seek to ensure the viability and stability of the cooperatives, allowing them to substantially contribute to the advancement of the local economy.
The quality of service given to the sector, according to her, made it possible for the cooperatives in the province to rank first in the Davao region in terms of gross income and volume of business generation, as well as to rank second when it comes to total assets, net surplus, members’ equity and deposit generation.
She further noted the presence of more than a thousand cooperative officials and members during the event, despite intermittent downpour, shows the true unity and strength of the sector.
Engr. Humber Cabunoc, PADO-CBEMDD Chief and Secretary of the Provincial Cooperative Council bared, in particular, the cooperative movement created some 10,350 jobs last year and accumulated P4.8 billion in total assets.
The sector also generated a volume of business worth P5 billion worth, creating a total net surplus of P96.2 million.
It also produced a total cash deposit of P585 million and a total gross income of P1.061 billion.
Oguis further commended Governor Rodolfo del Rosario for allowing the province for being one of the first LGUs to respond to the credit surety fund (CSF) program initiated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, which provides collateral-free loans to cooperatives.
A total of 22 cooperatives in the province joined hands to raise some P3.6 million to the fund, while the provincial government has placed its counterpart fund of P3.6 million, as well.
Funds coming from the cooperatives themselves, as well as from the provincial government, financial institutions and the BSP generated a total of P14.3 million DNCSF fund available for the member cooperatives.
Last June, the DNCSF released its first loan check amounting to P7 million to the Beneficiary of Agrarian Reform in Checkered Multi-Purpose Cooperative (BARC-MPC).
Engr. Cabunoc encouraged other cooperatives with good standing to join the credit surety fund.
“We are looking for well-capitalized and well-managed coops, particularly those which have an asset to capital ratio of at least 30 percent,” he said.
