Senate okays amendments to Cooperative Code

Aurea Calica
Philippine Star

The Senate has passed on third reading the amendments to the Cooperative Code that would reform and modernize at least 74,809 operational cooperatives in the country.

Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri, chair of the Senate committee on cooperatives, said the amendments will make it easier for people with similar needs or “common bonds of interest” to form cooperatives while making it harder for the unscrupulous to subvert the cooperative concept for selfish interests. “Although two-thirds of registered cooperatives continue to be operational, we want to see more achieving the status that they desire,” he said.

“We want to eliminate the casualty list of cooperatives as well as victims of pseudo-cooperatives by giving greater powers to the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and handing back power to the members through the General Assembly.”

The CDA reported that the number and types of cooperatives registered since 1990 are: 4,812 savings and credit cooperatives; 1,369 consumer cooperatives, mostly in public and private offices and schools; 1,409 producers cooperatives: 911 marketing cooperatives; 1,806 service cooperatives providing power distribution, potable water and irrigation system, public and private transportation service; and 60,000 registered agricultural and non-agricultural cooperatives.

The entire cooperative sector has generated 1.636 million jobs in 2006, 1.563 million jobs in 2005 and 1.498 million jobs in 2004, Zubiri said.

“If we lay down a red carpet of incentives for giant foreign investors, this Code does the equivalent for Filipinos who invest in their future through self-help. We owe it to them to reduce their risks and give them a wider room to achieve their objectives,” he said.

“We also strengthened provisions on the institution of a social audit to ensure that the cooperatives are socially responsible and implement livelihood programs and environment-friendly projects,” he said.