“CHEERS and hail to the BARP members: Hep, hep, hurray!” What else can we say to these indomitable Barp members? If the Barp Building and Center for Senior Citizens and Elderly still proudly stands at Upper Bokawkan, Baguio City, it is for their well-placed Barp pride and unity.
What, by the way, is the matter or score about the said building?
Well, it is like this. The Barp Center is way past due in its loan payments resulting to the issuance of its lending bank a procedural order to comply with the agreed payment schedule prior to the foreclosure of property.
The Barp Foundation and Barp Cooperative have exhausted intensive effort to solve the financial dilemma but did not succeed despite repeated joint strategic planning meetings.
In the urgently called final meeting to discuss options and possible solutions to the problem, the board members of both foundation and cooperative, it was decided that the best solution was to increase the annual membership of P600 and for all members of Barp BFI and BMPC to throw away all recriminations and instead to join hands as one strong organization to save the Barp Center Building from an impending mortgage foreclosure by the lending bank.
Help save the Barp Center
Increasing a member’s annual dues from P950 to 1550, thus a P600 adjustment, is vital to the continuance and fulfillment of a legacy, which we all want to pass down to the next generations of seniors and elderlies. Denominated as Barp Center for Senior Citizens and the Elderly, (Barp Center in short).
This P1,550 adjusted amount can be paid in installments: P50 monthly, P100 bimonthly, or a one-time payment of P600 annually. This last mode of payment was much encouraged.
During the open GA open forum, it was explained by the finance group headed by BARP Auditor Rogelio Urbanozo that with inflation follows the rise in cost of basic commodities, affecting, of course, the operational and overhead expenses of the foundation so that “increase in the annual dues is necessary in order to cope with the times.”
Each member’s contribution of equivalently P1.65 a day will ensure that we retain our collective ownership of the BARP center Building. The P1.654 daily or P50 monthly will go a long way for our mission of saving the BARP Center. The increase in annual dues daily by P1.65 can be compared to an increase in daily cost of a jeepney fare.
Contributions will be duly recorded in each member’s passbook.
The goal is to get 20 percent of the Barp Foundation members to contribute P600 each (representing the increase in annual dues) on the first month July 2019, 40% on the second month August 2019, and at least 60 percent paid on the sixth month.
The Barp board of trustees and directors in an exemplar gesture of support to the “Help Save the BARP Center by OPlan 600” paid their respective contributions of P600 before adjournment of the last meeting on June 29, 2019, wherein the proposal was affirmatively voted upon after lengthy discussion led by a searching lady discussant in the GA assembly.
To emphasize, the implementation of OPlan P600 is “retroactive and effective immediately.”
After the closing prayer, the community assembled intoned the BARP song of Life by Prof. B.M. Balweg ending with the last stanza of its Iloko version worded thus “Maipalagip kadatayo ti iggen ti BARP a pannuro: ‘Kitaem kad’ no anya’t maitulongmo. Saan nga dayta magun-odmo. Saan nga dayta magun-odmo.”