Tuesday, July 31, 2007 Preparation for coop summit on high gear
PREPARATIONS for the General Santos City-wide cooperative summit are now shifting to high gear as the date for the undertaking draws near.
Coralynn Gacal-Espinosa, acting chief of the Office of the City Economic Management and Cooperative Development (OCEMCD), disclosed that, except for few minor kinks her office is trying to iron out, preparations for the summit have been completed.
Work is going on smoothly and, as expected, things are now beginning to fall on their proper places.
The summit, slated this August 2-3, 2007 at the Family Country Homes and Convention Center is to be participated in by the representatives of about 160 existing cooperatives within the city.
"This early", Alma Zerrudo, chief of the Special Projects and Livelihood Division of OCEMCD, said, "120 cooperatives have already signed up, confirmed their participation and, in fact, paid their respective registration fees."
Espinosa said efforts to invite either Senator Francis Escudero or Senate President Manny Villar to be the keynote speaker during the summit is now underway.
"The Cooperative Code of the Philippines emanated from the Senate and we would like to know the current perspectives of the national government on the cooperative movement in the country through any of them", she explained.
South Cotabato Rep. Darlene R. Antonino-Custodio and City Mayor Pedro B. Acharon Jr. are among the prominent political personalities expected to grace the occasion. They will deliver their respective inspirational messages during the opening program.
The summit will be highlighted by the search for the city's most outstanding cooperative and the eventual giving of plaques of recognition and cash awards to the winners. "Winners will be given P5,000 each", Espinosa revealed.
Various activities are also lined up for the two-day affair, which include: lectures on various cooperative-related subjects and sectoral workshops to identify the cooperative's problems and concerns and to design or recommend appropriate responses.
The summit is being spearheaded by the City Cooperative Development Council (CCDC), led by Mayor Pedro B. Acharon Jr. as chairman, and Danilo B. Pandes, of the local office of the Cooperative Development Authority (CDA), as vice chairman.
OCEMCD is providing administrative and operational support services to the CCDC to ensure the success of the summit.
Under the cooperative law, the CCDC is composed of the local chief executive, representative of the local legislature, cooperative leaders of city or municipal federations and unions, including non-government organizations in the city or municipal level.
