The City Cooperative Development Office celebrated its 25th anniversary on December 5, 2025, marking another milestone in improving the quality of life of people through strong cooperative support.
Held at the World Palace, the event's highlight was the recognition of employees who served the CCDO for years, including the retirees.
Davao City Acting Mayor Sebastian “Baste” Duterte, in a message read during the program, expressed optimism and confidence that CCDO can deliver and empower more Dabawenyos, given the milestone it had just reached.
"As we celebrate this milestone, we commemorate another year of fostering financial resilience, empowering communities, and creating livelihood opportunities for Dabawenyos. We are optimistic that these efforts may cultivate a more robust socioeconomic environment and reinforce financial stability among the members of our communities," the acting mayor said.
Prialyn Carpio, CCDO Officer-in-Charge, informed Madayaw that within the CCDO’s 25 years, its programs have been solidified, and its personnel count has also grown.
She said this mirrors the growth of well-established cooperatives in the city.
"Nakita gyud nato ang pagtaas sa mga cooperatives Davao City sa maayong serbisyo sa among office to improve the quality of life of people, sa mga services sa CCDO (We saw the increase in the number of cooperatives in Davao City because of the good service of our office, which helped improve the quality of life of people)," she said.
As ways forward, the CCDO intends to continue providing financial services, training sessions, and assistance to coops.
It plans to continue partnerships and collaborations with stakeholders to strengthen existing programs. It already has ongoing collaborations with city-based and regional development councils.
She added that they aim to further increase the number of coops in the city by providing technical assistance to help them secure compliance with requirements and ensure that they become viable cooperatives.
She underscored that by being viable, coops can become eligible for grants and financial assistance not just from the city but from other organizations as well.
She reminded coops that the city itself provides financial assistance in the form of loans. These loans range from P100,000 to P1 million, depending on the category—from micro to small (P100,000–P300,000) and from medium to large (P500,000–P1 million).
To avail of these programs, coops need to be LGU-accredited, must have strong partnerships with the city, must be compliant, must have feasible projects, and must present financial reports that show their capacity to pay.
Carpio said that these loans have zero interest. The CCDO is also willing to extend assistance in helping coops prepare project proposals, so there is no reason for them not to avail of these services.
She encouraged more groups and associations to become coops, as some agencies offer programs, grants, and financial assistance exclusively to registered cooperatives. CIO