Sarangani holds first ever cooperatives summit

 

ALABEL, Sarangani (October 28, 2022) – In line with the celebration of the National Cooperative Month, Sarangani held its 1st Ronda Probinsya Kusog Kooperatiba Summit 2022 on October 28 at the Capitol gym, participated in by various cooperatives from the seven municipalities of Sarangani.

Republic Act 11502 series of 2020 declares every month of October as the National Cooperative Month and mandates the entire cooperative movement nationwide to annually celebrate the event thru series of activities.

According to Therese Faith Gavan, provincial cooperatives development officer-designate, the summit was held to “encourage cooperatives to become active partners of the province and to recognize their contributions in the development and nation-building.”

She added “the one-day activity aims to raise awareness, provide more learning opportunities, and establish an open space conversation with and among the cooperators with the presence of experts and credible speakers.”

Along with the provincial and municipal officials of Sarangani, guests from the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) also graced the summit and have provided learnings to the participants.

CDA Regional Legal Officer Atty. Gil Ray Ontal talked about the role of the government in cooperative development and discussed further the mandates of RA 11535 or an act making the position of a cooperative development officer mandatory in the municipal, city, and provincial levels.

During the open space conversation, cooperators were able to identify and air their issues and concerns such as the insufficient working capital, insufficient capability development budget for required mandatory trainings, and support in completing mandatory requirements for the issuance of Certificate of Compliance (COC).

As of June 30, 2022, Sarangani has already 66 cooperatives issued with COC and 10 more which are still in the process of completing necessary requirements.

Various types of cooperatives in Sarangani include multi-purpose cooperatives, transport, credit, agriculture, marketing, producers, consumers, agrarian reform, service, small-scale mining, fishermen, and dairy cooperatives.

Gavan said this activity will also “serve as a starter activity for the formulation of Sarangani’s programs, projects, and activities (PPAs) in support of the Philippine Cooperative Development Plan for CY 2023-2028."

“The summit,” Gavan said, “will be an avenue where we recognize how significant ang role sa mga cooperatives in the partnership with the local government diha sa kalambuan ug pag-uswag sa atong probinsya." (Jori Mae R. Samillano and photos by Martin Fernando Bernad Jr. /SARANGANI PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE)

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