RMCMPC: A legacy, a history

WHAT started as a dream, of the late Dr. Pablo O. Torre Sr., of helping RMCI employees on facing financial difficulties did not stop as a dream, but rather has become a legacy.

Daddy POT, as he was fondly called by RMCI employees, saw that there was a need for providing employees providential and productive buffers, aside from their usual take home pay. This noble thought, came during critical times and was realized when 43 original incorporators pooled their resources and came up with the Riverside Medical Center Multi Purpose Cooperative.

Organized in 1974 and nurtured under the mentoring of the late certified public accountant Antonio Puerta, the small coop with exclusive membership then to RMCI employees and with only P200, 000 starting capital has thrived to now become one of the biggest cooperatives in Bacolod and even in the province.

From then a small office in the hospital basement manned by two part-time staff, the coop now has an office at Door No. 2, M & M Building, B. S. Aquino Drive, Bacolod City. Its operations are managed by eight full time office personnel.

So from 43 original incorporators, RMCMPC has carved a name for itself with its 2,255 strong committed and responsible members. From P200,000 starting capital, the coop now boasts of its P74 million net worth of assets. From being a close cooperative, RMCMPC has members all over the different agencies in the city, province, and even abroad.

The coop also has been very actively involved in coop federations in local, regional, and national scenes. Bacolod City Cooperative Development Council (BCCDC), Federation of Cooperatives in Negros Occidental (FOCONO), Philippine Central Fund (PCF), CLIMBS and VICTO National are just some of the major affiliations of RMCMPC.

With its advocacies on the value of savings, financial literacy, wise spending and mutual assistance, RMCMPC also believes in educating, training, and helping families become financially independent, especially from loan sharks and other usurers.

Moreover, with the coop core values, members of the management staff are encouraged to be always professional and give responsive services to members. In turn, the members are expected to be financially disciplined, prudent in their spending, responsible in their loan repayment, and always maintain the culture of savings. The officers of RMCMPC are expected to be committed, competent, compassionate, and with integrity.

Now with its various programs and services, RMCMPC has made a lot of positive influences on the lives of its members. Its savings programs for kids and youth members have really motivated most families to live out the culture of savings.

The solid waste management program has earned for itself aids and grants from the USAID and Cooperative Housing Foundation. COOP-NATCCO has also given a multi-purpose building for coop use.

The Solid Waste Management building in Riverside Village in Barangay Mansilingan, and the coop multi-cab vehicle are just some of the grants which RMCMPC has received. Moreover, the Family Day & Children’s Party, Gender & Elderly Advocacy, and medical missions have allowed the coop to value the coop member’s family and its members.

The Financial Literacy or Budgeting Program readily reminds the members to be aware of their responsibility, especially when making credits or loans. These programs, supported with ownership and general assembly meetings, livelihood skills trainings, and other for-your-information meetings make RMCMPC’s services to members very laudable. Every Coop Month during November, for example, RMCMPC members actively attend and participate.

RMCMPC now has three villages for its members in Barangay Mansilingan and Barangay Banago in Bacolod City, and Menlo Village in Talisay City.

With its increased membership and revenues, RMCMPC has offered the following loan windows to answer the needs of its members: regular, business, housing, ATM, calamity, contingency, petty cash, micro-finance, special business, appliance, credit facilities, educational, emergency, short term, special and vehicle loans.

With the presence of the Audit and Inventory Committee, not only the finances of the Coop are checked, but also the social impact it has made in the lives of the coop members as well as on the community it serves. Besides this internal control, RMCMPC has its financial statement audited by an external, independent auditor.

And in response to the 7th coop principle of having concern for the community, RMCMPC’s laudable projects of Zero Plastic Use in the coop store and Food Always In the House (FAITH) concur not only with the city’s ordinance, but are also a positive way of caring for Mother Earth.

For all the 38 years of RMCMPC existence, it always acknowledge the support which Riverside Medical Center Incorporated, Riverside College, Dr. Pablo O. Torre Sr. Foundation, leading banking institutions, other cooperatives and coop-networks, and other socio-civic institutions extend to RMCMPC.

Now, RMCMPC is embarking on another dream - having a building of its own.

After a lot of considerations and consultations with technical specialists, RMCMPC takes this bigger step.

July 14, 2012 marks the beginning of this dream, as RMCMPC’s officers, member-owners, friends and guests witness the blessing of its 360 square-meter lot and the groundbreaking ceremony of its five-storey coop building at 9 a.m. at 22nd Lacson St., Bacolod City.

Thirty –eight years, and RMCMPC has gone a long way. A noble legacy has been made, and RMCMPC‘s 38 years of existence have penned its way in the pages of cooperative history.

And with the blessing from God, support from its member-owners, the leadership of its officers and the efficiency of its staff, RMCMPC hopes to continue to deliver the legacy and continue to make history. #