Malacañang vows support for cooperatives

MALACAÑANG yesterday vowed to adopt policies and programs to promote the growth of cooperatives in the country.

Speaking at the opening of the 10th National Cooperative Summit at the Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, President Benigno Simeon C. Aquino III said his administration will back legislative measures that will strengthen cooperatives and the mandate of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA).

“When I was a lawmaker…I was one of those who supported to amend the law on cooperatives. The revised law allowed better review of the impact of cooperatives in the community. Are the jobs increasing and the businesses expanding?” Mr. Aquino said.

He was referring to Republic Act (RA) 9520, signed into law in 2008, which amended RA 6938, or Cooperative Code of the Philippines, by authorizing cooperatives to expand financial, training and education services to their members.

Mr. Aquino also assured support for programs and other initiatives to improve microfinancing, that cooperatives will be given an opportunity to dialogue with the government on their problems in order to arrive at solutions, that the state will protect the sector from firms that use cooperatives to evade paying taxes and that his administration will sponsor programs that will enhance the capabilities of cooperative members to manage their organization.

“The model of the cooperative is a way wherein the consumer also becomes the owner of the company. I believe that cooperatives are allies of the government in fighting poverty,” Mr. Aquino said.

The summit is a biannual event, with this year focusing on developing an 10-year strategic direction of the cooperative movement to harmonize and integrate diverse, still-fragmented co-op businesses and services.

CDA data showed there were approximately 78,000 registered cooperatives as of end-December last year. — AMGR, Businessworld