Tagum Cooperative eyes more members

By Cheneen R. Capon
ALREADY a Hall of Famer, the Tagum Cooperative (Tagum Coop) is not about to rest on its laurels.
Tagum Coop board of director (BOD) chairperson Norma R. Peregras said despite the cooperative’s success, they will continue to aspire for greater heights by targeting to increase their regular membership by 8,000 more this year.
“We have an estimated of more than 113,000 regular members region wide,” Peregras said during the Club 888 media forum at the Marco Polo Davao yesterday.
Peregras said the Tagum Cooperative recorded a 12 percent increase from 2013 to 2014.
“From 99,000 in 2013, our membership increased to 113,000 last year,” she said.
Tagum Coop has a total of 11 branches in the Davao Region. These are located in Mintal, Matina and Bajada for Davao City; Digos City; Panabo City; municipalities of Carmen, Sto Tomas and Nabunturan; San Francisco in Agusan del Sur; Tagum Public market and the Tagum Coop main in Tagum City.
Peregras said 75 percent of their membership are women and that this is the reason why Tagum Coop developed a product that will cater to women, especially those who belong in the marginalized sector.
The cooperative has also 50,000 youth members who have already deposited a total of P54 million and started saving instead of using their money to drugs, among others.
The cooperative will be holding its 48th general assembly on March 29 at the San Jose Gymnasium at Tagum City.
“We are expecting about 15 to 18,000 cooperators who will attend the assembly while there will be also a convention in Davao City that will be attended by about 45,000 coop members,” Peregras said.
The Tagum Coop recorded a P2.7 billion in assets, and 238 million net surplus last year, making it a billionaire cooperative.
“Our loan portfolio now is P1.8 billion but we were able to release about P3 billion in 2014,” Peregras said.
She also lauded the cooperative’s low delinquency rate of 9 percent last year from 65 percent 20 years ago.
The coop’s initiatives like seminars on family budgeting, financial counseling and implementation of stricter collection, and checking the capacity to pay and collateral of members are implemented to the past years, according to Peregras.
For this year, Peregras said the cooperative is planning to expand its branches in Butuan City.
“We will set up another one branch in Butuan City and we will focus on our existing businesses like printing press, water refilling station, funeral parlor, among other,” she said.