Davao coops get financial aid

ELEVEN Davao City-based cooperatives will benefit from livelihood assistance program and Credit Surety Fund (CSF) amounting to P3.6 million.

City Cooperative Development Office (CCDO) chief Engineer Jaime Adalin said P1.1 million will be released by the City Government of Davao as a livelihood assistance program and P2.5 million from the CSF during the Joint CSF Lap Handover Ceremony at the City Hall Training Hall Monday next week.

No less than Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and executives of the Davao City Credit Surety Fund oversight committee will turn over the loan assistance to the small cooperatives.

The CSF oversight committee is composed of representatives from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Land Bank of the Philippines (LBP), Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP), and Industrial Guarantee Loan Fund (IGLF).

Adalin said each cooperative will get at least P100,000 loan for the livelihood assistance program, adding the CCDO is prioritizing mostly the small cooperatives as beneficiaries.

He said extending livelihood assistance to small cooperatives started since 2005 wherein several small cooperatives numbering to about 53 cooperatives received livelihood assistance.

This assistance, however, is granted only after the cooperatives have complied to some requirements, which include at least one year in the business, certificate of good standing issued by the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), local government unit (LGU) accreditation, audited financial statement and project proposal.

"The livelihood assistance is comprised of two components: skills enhancement/assistance and loan assistance," Adalin said.

The CSF was launched July this year to cater mostly the city's coop-micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

The CSF grants cooperatives with the guarantee fund at 10 times from their actual depostied amount without collateral.

The cooperatives, before their application for the gurantee fund is granted, must contribute a minimum of P100,000. The accumulated contributions then will be become the surety fund.

Meanwhile, over 1,000 cooperative members attended the culmination of the Cooperative Month on October 27, Saturday, at Mergrande Ocean Resort in the city.